The Beach

The Beach or Leo speaking American

The movie is fine if you just want some mindless entertainment, but it really pulls me out of the experience when they start speaking American
(just another case of a language being treated as "exotic" for an American audience)

As long as everyone keeps shouting at each other, I guess it works😉

And what made you decide to start a thread about The Beach right now?
I mean, that movie is practically as old as the Bible...
But yeah, it’s actually a really great film... I still love it...
BTW, I actually visited the island where they filmed it before the movie even hit theaters... back then, it truly felt like paradise on Earth...
I swung by again this year, but honestly, it was just totally overrun with tourists, and the prices have shot up so much it's actually getting ridiculous...

James Taylor51 said:The Beach or Leo speaking American

The movie is just for fun, but it drives me crazy when they speak American
(just another "exotic" language for Americans to play with)

As long as everyone’s mouth is running, I guess.😉

Exactly! That was the best part of the whole thing...
I actually got chills when I heard it.
Because even before they used those wordplays in American,
I felt such a connection to the story...
I get that same "urge" to just leave... go far away...

It’s just,,, I don't think I could actually walk away from civilization...
Even if there's paradise at stake... or tons of drugs involved for the hell of it...
😉
.................................................. ...So let me take you by the hand, Away from here to another land.

I just finished watching it.
I don't really keep up with all the latest hits.

I honestly couldn't believe my ears when I heard them speaking American. 😎

James Taylor51 said:Just finished watching it.
I don't keep up with every single radio hit these days.

I was floored when I heard them speaking American. 😎

And honestly? That song from the soundtrack—"Pure shores" by All Saints—
it actually holds up. It isn't bad at all.

---
www

I wasn't a fan. DiCaprio is overrated. The whole story just didn't click for me.
A man is a man, regardless of his environment or how hard he tries to "break free."

The only redeeming quality was the scenery. It was stunning. Honestly, they should have made a nature documentary instead of a feature film.

silentmason3 said:I absolutely hated it. DiCaprio is overrated. The whole plot just wasn't my style.
A man is a man, regardless of where he lives or how hard he tries to "find himself."

The only redeeming quality was the stunning scenery. They should have made a nature documentary instead of a feature film.

but movies are made
for people who want to escape... and I don't mean a quick vacation...
I think plenty of young people feel this way... wanting to just pack up their lives and leave... find somewhere better...

haven't you ever felt that way?

That’s just not the answer. Even the movie itself proved that this kind of communal living—where you ditch the daily grind of rules but still end up shackled by some other set of unwritten ones—doesn't work. It’s a sinking ship waiting to happen.

I would never (and I try not to be dramatic about it) just walk away. Look, we all hit a breaking point where everything feels like too much, but I’d never take the easy way out. I’m happy right where I am. Life is meant to be a challenge.

Look... the whole idea of just "escaping to somewhere beautiful and far away" isn't the entire point of the movie...
That was just my subjective take on it... how I personally interpreted the core message...

Beyond that, the film is really about how we interact with one another...

How we treat people and how much that actually matters for the community as a whole...

Take this forum, for instance. It functions like that little community on the island... which is exactly what the movie explores...
Since you're an active part of this community here...
...you should be able to find something in the film to actually relate to...
😉

silentmason3 said:That’s not the answer. Even the movie showed that living together without everyday rules—but still being weighed down by other ones—just doesn't work. Sooner or later, it's doomed to fail.

I would never (even if I try to avoid using that word) just walk away. We all get fed up with everything sometimes, but I’d never resort to that. I'm happy where I am. Life is a challenge.

...this movie is straight-up garbage, honestly couldn't get any worse🤮
..but man, that soundtrack though🙏 🙏

DiCaprio totally butchered the adaptation of that amazing book. I've read it quite a few times, but I honestly can't remember if there was a part about speaking American in the original text. If anyone out there has a better memory than I do, please let me know—I'm dying to know, and I really don't feel like re-reading the whole thing just to check.

gabal said:Leo totally ruined the adaptation of an incredible book. I’ve read it quite a few times myself, so I honestly can't recall if there was a part about someone speaking American in the original text. If anyone out there has a better memory than I do, please let me know—I'm dying to know, but I really don't feel like cracking the book open again just to check.

That part isn't in the book. There are two women mentioned from the former USA, but their nationality is never actually specified. Sal just mentions having a soft spot for refugees, so I personally just assumed they were from Canada.

BTW, the book really explores that thin line between utopia and dystopia, whereas the movie feels like nothing more than a cheap postcard. It's a pretty poor adaptation.

Of course the movie was total garbage 🙄 compared to the book! I honestly couldn't put the book down, whereas with the film—I found myself constantly making excuses to check what was in the fridge 😁 or just wandering off to the bathroom every five minutes.

I haven't actually read the book, but I sat through a college lecture where we watched the movie and then had a bit of a chat about various aspects of it. From a purely logistical standpoint, I found the film interesting regarding how it depicts the development of a tourist destination. If they had executed it better, it could have been a fascinating study of backpacker culture—which, from what I gathered, is the core motivation of the book and was handled brilliantly there—but the movie just falls into that typical Hollywood nonsense.

The plotlines are shallow. It’s basically just Leo taking the lead female on a little boat trip to go shopping, and he simply can't resist hitting on her. 🙄 And the ending? Totally hollow. Honestly, it wasn't just the end; a huge chunk of the story felt unnecessarily stalled out.

By the way, while we were discussing the film, I heard they spent ages debating how to wrap it up. Apparently, the book has a solid ending, which Hollywood couldn't quite replicate. That's why they supposedly filmed three different versions of the finale, just to ensure the "optimistic" version won out in the end.

There was even someone in our audience who had visited the island shortly after filming wrapped. He claimed they completely trashed the place. To shoot scenes from the water, they set up these massive cranes that absolutely decimated the seabed. Supposedly, the damage is irreparable.

No, the plot isn't shallow at all....
I saw way more than just surface level in that movie...
Something "spiritual"... all that community stuff and the isolation from society..
How these groups are always destined to have someone come along and "rebel" against them...
Then there's Leo's obsession with fighting, shown through this whole game world... honestly feels a lot like "Fight Club"..
And the question of how much you'd actually help someone if something went wrong...
Would you isolate them from the group just because you can't stand hearing them scream since they aren't as happy as everyone else? And would you even stay with someone willing to kill a person just for the "greater good"? So yeah
That guy who was so high-strung and pissed off at the tourists—people just visiting places like sightseers, dropping cash and moving on—that's another "Fight Club" vibe right there, criticizing consumerist culture...

There's something to this film, something deeper...

Hannah Price3 said:The book probably had a good ending, so Hollywood couldn't tear it apart. That's why they shot three different endings, presumably so the optimistic version would win out.

Really?
Never heard that one..
Do you know what the other versions were?
Do you know specifically? What actually happened in them?
How did the book end?

Crook said:....so, how did things wrap up in the book?

SPOILER alert for anyone who hasn't read the book yet—SPOILER


That peaceful island vibe gets totally wrecked when a shark attacks those three Swedes. As for the aftermath, one of them is dying, and another has basically lost his mind and fled the island. To make matters even more chaotic, a new group of travelers arrives, only to be intercepted and killed by the local marijuana growers. Among the newcomers were two guys whom Richard had given copies of the map—the very same one Duffy handed him at the hotel during the beginning of the novel and film. Because of this, Sal and her boyfriend end up blaming Richard for exposing their "commune," causing the whole situation on the island to spiral into the exact opposite of a utopia. Richard, that Black guy (I can't recall his name), the two Frenchmen (though in the book, Richard doesn't actually hit a woman), and one other guy (who I think was cut from the movie) decide they have to get off the island before it's too late. Their big plan is to load up the dinner pot with enough marijuana leaves to knock everyone else out, and then, adios.

Sadly, right in the middle of dinner, some drug kingpins show up with a warning that far too many people are heading to the island and they just won't tolerate it anymore. To prove they aren't joking, they bring along the bodies of the recently killed travelers.
In the midst of all this absolute despair, the crowd—who, mind you, had been heavily drugged by that special "addition" to the meal—viciously attacks the corpses, viewing them as intruders who ruined their paradise. After that, they grab fishing spears and turn their sights on Richard.
They start picking him apart with small stabs until he’s rescued by that guy who wasn't in the movie (the one who was watching over the dying Swede). Then, the Frenchmen and the Black guy jump in to help him, and they manage to retreat toward the raft they prepared earlier and escape the island.

The Beach is honestly just a super sugary, watered-down version of what was actually a killer book. I mean, it’s a bummer because they didn't even have the guts to touch anything deeper than the surface—everything feels totally unfinished, and that happy ending? 👎 I'm actually speechless, I really don't have the words

e, thanks Richard Hernandez13
for the reply...

ugh, that book isn't exactly a feel-good read like the movie...

I'm not gonna side with silentpuma25 on this one—the movie isn't even sugary sweet..
It’s solid just the way it is. I wouldn't mess with it or try to make it "grittier" just for the sake of it, because honestly, it's not overly sentimental to begin with..

wait...
if I'm reading this right --> there's a homosexual element in the book?

Richard Hernandez13 said:SPOILER for anyone who hasn't read the book - SPOILER


The island paradise gets wrecked when a shark attacks those three Swedes.
(In the novel, Richard doesn't pick up a woman)

Crook said:Wait a second...
If I’m following you correctly—is there some kind of homosexual subtext in this book?

What kind of element are we talking about here, like three guys from Sweden hanging out? 😉

You’re probably thinking of how Richard doesn't actually act on his attraction to the woman from France. If that's the case, I should probably point out that while Richard is clearly craving her, he's really holding himself back just so he doesn't blow up his friendship with Etienne (her boyfriend). That whole sense of longing is actually one of those ways Garland builds up this feeling of loneliness, even though the main character is basically living in a utopia, totally cut off from the society he chose to walk away from.

Joe Biden, I can't even remember what kind of endings they were playing with back then. It was ages ago. 😉

In the movie, Richard goes shopping with Sal and just can't help himself from making a move. That’s one thing they completely changed from the book, and honestly, it’s one of those stupid cinematic choices. The film tries to build this whole vibe where they messed things up for Sal—and by extension, the entire community—through sex, but it felt totally unnecessary given everything else going on. This is exactly why I say Hollywood is shallow; it feels like they can't spin a plot without leaning on sex. Maybe they think the audience won't feel any tension unless there's some threat of a cheated husband involved.

Richard Hernandez13, so you're saying there's no sex with the Frenchwoman in the book either?