Beach, The MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 Content: -3 1/2

Traveling in Thailand, American adventurer Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio) hears of a mysterious beach that no one can get to, his fascination with excitement and danger is piqued. He asks Etienne (Guillaume Canet) and Francoise (Virginie Ledoyen), a French couple rooming next to him in a Bangkok hotel, to join him on his journey. They accept and Etienne makes all of the traveling arrangements. But no one will actually take them to the particular island, so getting there means swimming across an open sea. When they arrive, they discover a community of travelers like themselves, people searching for excitement, fun, and paradise on earth. Immediately accepted into the community, they find their need for pleasure satisfied, at least for the moment. But they also find marijuana farmers trying to protect their secret fields. So paradise soon turns into a living hell. THE BEACH starts with an interesting premise and an invigorating score that gives the film a distinct feel. However, it trails off into an odd and confused mish-mash in the second half, leaving the audience dissatisfied in the end.

The entire premise of this film centers on Richards search for pleasure. According to him, travel is the search for adventure. He indicates not only his desire for pleasure, but also excitement and danger. His desire for Etiennes girlfriend, Francoise, grows and he allows nothing to stand in the way of his pursuit of pleasure. This distressing perspective indicates people find fulfillment in life through feeding their own desires, whatever those may be. In the film, desires predominantly include sex and drugs. Sex is implied on one occasion by sounds heard from another room. And on another shows the couple getting undressed, revealing female breast nudity. Breast nudity also occurs in another explicit sex scene. Scenes of graphic violence include the bloody aftermath of a shark attack on humans. Graphic sex and violence, along with large amounts of foul language should stop perceptive viewers from going to THE BEACH.

Preview Reviewer: John Adair
Distributor: 20th Century Fox, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., LA, CA 90035