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(About Our Ads) "THE BEACH" (2000) (Leonardo DiCaprio, Virginie Ledoyen) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Extreme Extreme Moderate Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Minor Heavy None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Moderate None Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Drama: A young American traveler and his two new French friends travel to a hidden island, rumored to be a tropical paradise, only to slowly discover that it might not be such an idyllic place. PLOT: Richard (LEONARDO DiCAPRIO) is a young American traveler who's arrived in Thailand looking for adventure beyond the typical tourist trappings. While he's immediately drawn to an alluring French woman, Francoise (VIRGINIE LEDOYEN), who's staying next door with her boyfriend, Etienne (GUILLAUME CANET), Richard gets his opportunity upon meeting Daffy (ROBERT CARLYLE). He's an older and quite delusional man who rambles on about a secret island, a paradise with a perfect beach that few have ever seen. Richard doesn't think much of this, attributing the story to the pot they smoked, but the next morning he discovers that Daffy left him a map to that island. Quickly convincing Francoise and Etienne to join him, the three head off for the remote island, but not before Richard shares the story about it - as well as a copy of his map - with some stoner tourists who are intrigued by rumors of it being overgrown in pot. Eventually making it to the island after a long swim in potentially shark-infested waters, the three discover to their horror that part of the island is run by armed drug farmers. Managing to avoid detection, Richard and his friends head off to the other half where they're met by Keaty (PATERSON JOSEPH), a fellow traveler who leads them back to a community of other travelers, loosely ruled by Sal (TILDA SWINTON) and her handyman boyfriend, Bugs (LARS ARENTZ HANSEN). While everything seems quite wonderful and the three frolic on the beach and in the jungle with their new friends, unrestrained passion, eventual dissention and the possibility of those with Richard's copied map arriving on the island soon threaten to destroy their idyllic paradise. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? DiCaprio may draw in some, but beyond "Titanic," his box office allure hasn't been proven, so the jury is still out on thaat issue. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For violence, some strong sexuality, language and drug content. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: LEONARDO DiCAPRIO plays a young American traveler who's looking for adventure in his life. He uses strong profanity, smokes pot & cigarettes and sleeps with two different women (despite both having boyfriends). VIRGINIE LEDOYEN plays a French woman who has an affair with Richard and briefly cusses. TILDA SWINTON plays the initially loving but ultimately manipulative and tyrannical leader of the community who has sex with Richard as recreation and a means of punishing him, while also briefly using strong profanity. GUILLAUME CANET plays Francoise's French boyfriend who most cope with her having an affair with Richard. He also briefly uses strong profanity. ROBERT CARLYLE plays a deranged and suicidal man who uses a great deal of strong profanity. LARS ARENTZ HANSEN plays Sal's boyfriend who briefly threatens Richard. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a brief look at the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity is extreme with at least 46 "f" words being used, along with other profanities and some colorful phrases. Violence is also extreme as several people are shot and killed (among other related acts), while we also see the extremely gory and graphic wounds of several shark attack victims. Those and other scenes (accompanied by plenty of suspenseful music) where people are chased, nearly caught or otherwise threatened, may be suspenseful or unsettling for some viewers. A sexual encounter is partially seen and includes movement and related sounds, while activity leading up to an implied encounter shows a woman's bare breasts (the sounds of another encounter are also heard). Two of those encounters involve people cheating on their respective boyfriends/girlfriends, and other bad attitudes are present in the form of some murderous drug farmers. Related to that, various people smoke pot during the film, while other regular smoking and some drinking are also present. The film also contains some behavior that may prove to be imitative, as well as various topics of possible discussion, including communal life and suicide. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who's interested in seeing this picture, we suggest that you take a closer look at our more detailed content listings to get a specific explanation of what occurs in the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE During the film, various characters smoke what may be pot or cigarettes (when not indicated below). Daffy lights up a joint and then shares it with Richard. Richard and some men he just met smoke joints and drink beer and talk about a legendary island where there's reportedly enough pot to smoke all day for the rest of their lives. Upon reaching the island, Richard and his French friends find a huge field of cannabis and then learn that drug farmers harvest the drug. Richard smokes a joint while others in the commune do as well. We then hear that the villagers routinely exchange pot for their daily needs back on the mainland. Some villagers drink. Some villagers smoke joints. People, including Richard and Sal, drink in a city. BLOOD/GORE To prove his merit, Richard drinks a glass of what's reportedly snake blood. Richard goes into a room and finds bloody sheets and blood splattered everywhere from someone who's committed suicide (we then see the bloody body on the floor). From a distance, we see a bloody tooth that's been extracted from a man's mouth. Blood comes from a shark and dilutes the water around it after being stabbed. We see someone vomit on the street. We see several villages who are the victims of shark attacks and they and their wounds are quite bloody, gory and gruesome (showing huge chunks of flesh missing from various parts of their bodies). Richard later finds a trail of blood through the sand on the beach from where the others dragged the wounded villagers. We see a body in a burial hole in the sand. Richard eats a live caterpillar. Some people who are shot are bloody and blood squirts out and/or splatters on nearby objects, including Richard. Richard's head is somewhat bloody after being struck there. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Richard and Francoise have both for having an affair (while she's Etienne's girlfriend). Richard later cheats on her after they're an item (and lies to her about his casual encounter with Sal who was thus cheating on her boyfriend). The drug farmers obviously have both for harvesting drugs and killing some innocent tourists. Richard lies to Sal and the others about showing and/or copying the map to the island for anyone else. Since most of the villagers can't stand the anguished cries and screaming of one of their injured cohabitants, they take him far away into the woods (so that he would be out of sight and thus out of mind). Later, a person smothers this man (to put him out of his misery). Rather than leave, Sal decides to attempt shooting one of her own people to satisfy the drug farmers' need for compensation for the breaking of their rules. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes not listed here but included in "Violence" and "Blood/Gore" may also be tense or unsettling to some viewers. While swimming across a several mile body of water, Etienne suddenly reports seeing a fin and then yells that Francoise has disappeared under the water. We then see the camera's point of view moving up toward Richard from underneath him in the water (but everything turns out okay). Richard and his French friends spot armed drug farmers and crawl their way out of a field hoping not to be detected by them (in a several minute sequence). Since the villagers can't leave the island, several men hold down a man with a bad tooth as one extracts it with a pair of pliers. While Richard is out fishing in a lagoon, everyone races up to the beach and yells for him to get out due to the sighting of a shark. Richard then spots it and dives underwater where he fends off its attack with a knife that he uses to stab it. We see several villages who are the victims of shark attacks and their wounds are quite bloody, gory and gruesome (showing huge chunks of flesh missing from various parts of their bodies). A presumably dead man suddenly sits upright in someone else's dream/hallucination. Once banned from the village, Richard begins sneaking around the armed drug farmers, even going so far as to enter their hut at night and creep around them. Richard nearly shoots one of the drug farmers with a machine gun while he sleeps. Strangers arrive on the island, unaware of the armed drug farmers who are approaching them in the fields. After a momentary standoff, the farmers shoot and kill the strangers. An armed farmer chases Richard through the jungle. The farmers threaten the villagers with their guns and then have a character, holding a revolver containing just one bullet, threaten and try to shoot another character. GUNS/WEAPONS Fighter Jets/Napalm: Seen in clips from "Apocalypse Now." Knife: Used by someone to commit suicide (we don't see the act, but do see the bloody results). Handguns/Machine guns: Used by the drug farmers and others to threaten and kill people. See "Violence" for details. Hot Knife: Used to "brand" new members of the commune (three parallel lines on the shoulder). Machine gun: Seen in one of Richard's hallucinations where Daffy fires at people on the street who then fall down, but we don't see the impact on their bodies or any blood/gore. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Shut the f*ck up," "You're f*cked in the head," "Shut up," "Pissed," "Wanker," "Balls" (testicles), "Jeez," "What the hell," "Bastards," "Pain in the ass" and "Idiot." To prove his merit, Richard drinks a glass of what's reportedly snake blood. We see that a person has committed suicide with a knife. Richard and his new French friends attempt to swim across a several mile body of water to get to the island. Francoise and then Richard and Etienne jump from a high cliff into the water below. To be initiated into the commune, the last to join has to burn three lines/marks on the next person's shoulder with a hot knife, and so Richard, Francoise and Etienne have this done to them. JUMP SCENES A presumably dead man suddenly sits upright in someone else's dream/hallucination. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A heavy amount of suspenseful/ominous music plays during the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 46 "f" words, 13 "s" words, 2 slang terms for/using male genitals ("d*ck" and "pr*ck"), 6 asses (4 used with "hole"), 6 damns, 1 hell, 4 uses of "G-damn," 3 of "God," 2 each of "Oh my God" and "Swear to God" and 1 use of "Oh God" as exclamations. SEX/NUDITY Richard hears sexually related sounds coming from his next-door neighbors (presumably Francoise and Etienne) that include moaning and bed thumping. We briefly see a man in a small bathing suit (we see part of his bare butt) and then see women in small bikinis. Francoise briefly comments on the "bullsh*t" pretentious Americans tell French girls so that they can sleep with them. It appears that we briefly see a bare-breasted woman on the beach (from a distance). Richard and Francoise make out in the water where he takes off her top and we see her bare breasts as they continue to kiss. Although we don't see anything else, it's implied that they have sex. Bugs warns Richard to "keep your d*ck in your pants" while traveling to the city with Sal. Despite the warning and once in the city, Sal and Richard have sex (after she tells him to warm up the bed). As such, we see their encounter through a sheet of sorts that offers an enhanced silhouetted view of her on top of his lap with movement (and we hear related sexual sounds). After they're done, she tells him to get some sleep since she might wish to have sex again before breakfast. We see some of the female villagers in small bikinis. SMOKING During the film, various characters smoke what may be pot or cigarettes (when not indicated below). Richard smokes at least seven times, while Francoise, Etienne and Sal smoke once or twice and various minor and background characters occasionally smoke. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Communes and such communal life. Since most of the villagers can't stand the anguished cries and screaming of one of their injured cohabitants, they take him far away into the woods (so that he would be out of sight and thus out of mind). Richard's descent into delusional madness. Suicide. VIOLENCE In a scene from "Apocalypse Now," we see napalm being dropped on a beach. Daffy tears through the screening separating the top of his room from Richard's. We see that a person has committed suicide by cutting their wrists with a knife. Richard stabs a shark, causing it to bleed. Bugs grabs Richard by the crotch and warns him not to fool around with Sal. We see several villages who are the victims of shark attacks and their wounds are quite bloody, gory and gruesome (showing huge chunks of flesh missing from various parts of their bodies). Francoise slaps Richard. In one of Richard's hallucinations, Daffy fires at people on the street with a machine gun who then fall down, but we don't see the impact on their bodies or any blood/gore. The drug farmers shoot and kill several strangers. A man falls into a below ground trap and is impaled on sharpened sticks (wounded but not killed). Richard throws Francoise to the ground while trying to get control over her so that he can tell her what's about to happen. A person smothers a wounded and suffering man to put him out of his misery. A farmer hits Richard over the head while others shoot machine guns into the air to get everyone's attention. They then aim their guns at the others in a threatening fashion. A farmer throws Richard to the floor while another hits Etienne. A character, holding a revolver containing just one bullet, threatens and tries to shoot another character. Reviewed February 3, 2000 / Posted February 11, 2000