THE BEACH (2000) *** Mythical Altamont for a generation that didn't have one. Alex Garland strings his lines obviously enough to follow, but clouds the areas where they connect to objective reality: the result is that, for me, it feels like he's talking about the counterculture and hard drugs a lot, while pictures of pretty beaches and people roll by. It's not just a '60s road tale pasted onto a 21st century setting though, in fact it's not that at all, though there are definite connections and it probably helps to have both frames of reference. Part of what's going on is an explication on how far the youth of today have to go to get outside the mainstream-smoking pot and shacking up aren't exactly revolutionary activities any more. To the extent that we're talking counterculture exposé there's precious little sociology and no politics, which makes things easier to follow even while it runs the risk of offending those who gave the most. Danny Boyle plays flash enough to be hip without going off the cyber-end, to very appropriate musical accompaniment, virtually none of which will be identifiable by anyone born before 1984. It's Leonardo DiCaprio's show of course, more because he's the lead than because he buries his support. In fact the entire cast is impressive: Virginie Ledoyen as the winsome French girl who was always better off with the entirely admirable Guillaume Canet; Tilda Swinton as the aging matriarch presiding over what's generally benevolent anarchy, Robert Carlyle as a broken lunatic named after a cartoon, and an assortment of entertaining fringe characters. DiCaprio's descent into madness is fascinating, reminiscient of Robert De Niro in The Deer Hunter even before the closing scenes, if not quite of that historic magnitude (don't blink after he loses the girl, because he goes fast-of course I guess some folks do).
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