The Beach

The Beach

Danny Boyle



Plot synopsis:

The Beach is a thriller based around the main character, Richard, who is an independant young man in search of adventure. We are first introduced to him as he is on holiday alone in Thailand. He is then, quite randomly, introduced to a psychopathic, deranged man who calls himself Daffy. Daffy later leaves Richard a map to an unknown, unheard of beach, and kills himself. Richard is drawn to investigating the beach by his desire for adventure, and although unsure whether or not to believe the deranged Daffy, takes off with 2 french strangers, Françoise and Étienne. When he, and the french couple discover that the beach is a real place, they're welcomed by a secret settlement and live there in their paradise. All is great, until Richard is broken off from the rest of the settlement and has to fend for himself. He, like Daffy, begins to lose his mind and the island plays games with his head. The whole settlement is forced off the island, and the final scene sees Richard settling back into city life, with only a picture of all the island people sent by Françoise as a reminder of his lost paradise.

In this scene at the beginning of the film, Richard finds Daffy dead in the run-down motel room, after discovering the map left for him by Daffy pinned to his room door.

This is a very generic shot. The messy bed, covered in blood, and the blood splashed across the wall is an immediate thriller identifier. It quickly shocks the audience and makes it clear that someone is dead - not just injured - as there is so much blood.

The closing of the door on the camera shows the audience that the main character, Richard, is going to be shut in the room alone. This increases tension and fear amongst the audience, and creates anxiety as it isn't yet known who killed the man or if he's still in the room.



Richard is seen walking and looking towards the body on the floor, but the camera acts as the body. The low angle shot shows the scene, including the wall with the blood and the dreariness of the mise en scene.



This shot is the first image of the dead body that the audience sees. The camera is moved in a way that shows the slow movement of Richard as he discovers the man. It also shows the view that he has. The rule of thirds applies by drawing the eye firstly to the left of the frame, to the blood stained bed, and then drawing it down to the body on the floor.



This extreme close up is used to present the bloody hand of the man, and also the weapon he used to kill himself (the knife).

The drawn picture on the wall indicates psychotic behaviour and therefore presents the dead man as a psychopath. The blood splashed over it is a generic image.





In this scene, Richard is playing a secret game with the dangerous farmers of the island as they sleep. It is clear that Richard is losing his sanity.



The non-ambient lighting used is this shot is effective by only revealing the eyes of Richard. It is in his eyes that we are able to see the insanity that he has developed, which intensifies the scene as the audience is unsure what he is going to do.



Again, the chiaroscuro lighting is used to only reveal part of Richard's face. His face is empty of emotion.



The low angle shot here shows how Richard see's himself as of higher importance and more threatening than the island farmers.  



This shot of one of the men sleeping is effective, as the high angle shot puts the man in a vulnerable position. The audience knows that if Richard attacks, he will almost certainly be outnumbered and killed by the farmers, as he has grown a false sense of immortality due to his insanity. This uncertainty of his actions increases the tension of the scene. The chiaroscuro lighting keeps the shot dark and disturbing, and the non-ambient lighting allows for a shadow of the gun that Richard is holding to be cast upon the canvas wall next to the man's head.