'The Beach' by Kimberley Griffiths

'The Beach' is a British film Directed by Danny Boyle in 2000. It was based on the book by Alex Garlands 'The Beach'. It had a $50 million budget and runs for 119 minutes. 'The Beach' follows a young American called Richard (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) back packing in Thailand where he meets a man called Daffy (played by Robert Carlyle) who tells him about a paradise island. Daffy commits suicide leaving Richard with a mysterious story about an island and a map. Richard is left to make the choice as to whether or not to find the island. 

Sound

In the opening sequence to 'The Beach' music plays a key part. The first words of the character Richard are "my name is Richard", this tells us that the film will be following him though his adventure, moreover it implies that whatever happens to him, he will survive, he will come out of it alive as he is narrating what has happened to him. The music played is called 'snakeblood', composed by Neil Barnes and Paul Daley and Performed by Leftfield. The word snake blood and what it can mean is played through the opening sequence. Here is a link of the music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18S-NEZjEj0

The music has a heavy bass and very modern, it expresses the attitude of 2000, everything is fast, new and optimistic. Also reflecting the party lifestyle of the 20-somethings of 2000. At the beginning the music starts of quiet and increases in sound as Richard goes deeper into the city of Bangkok.

Speech is key in the opening sequence, the voiceover is giving us connotations to what type of film it will be, that it will be focusing on his internal thoughts, what he thinks in his head and what is actions show. In addition, the speech in the opening is slightly contrapuntal; both speakers are clearly heard despite being in a presumably noisy market area within the inner city of Bangkok. 

Camerawork

It opens with a long shot of Richard in the middle of the screen with cars driving past him. The camera id on the other side of the road, revealing Richard only when there are no cars. This tells us that his life is insignificant and that his is unsure where he is going. He then begins to walk left and look at a large golden Buddha statue; this conveys the two different types of cultures clashing together.

As the beat of the music drops, the shot changes to a tracking shot of Richard walking from behind. As he looks at a man on one of the market stools the camera flows and changes to forward mid-shot. Again linking with the voiceover, it tells us that the film will be flowing his life. The colours used are vivid and are a wide range. Smoke is used, possibly to represent that he is walking into mystery and another chapter of his life is beginning. Signs and bizarre adverts are abundant again revealing the complete isolation he is in, in this new country. The rule of thirds is constantly used, again telling us that it is his life that we are following. The last shot of the opening scene is where he is drinking snakes blood, a reference to the song title. Before him sits a clear glass box filed with a few snakes and a clear vodka shot glass filled with snakes blood. He is sitting in the middle of the screen and a mid-shot is used, the rest of his body is hidden beneath the table. The whole opening scenes are covered in a faint haze, almost expressing a dream-like state, conveying an unsurely and possibly foreshadowing the use of drugs.

Lighting

The lighting is used very cleverly; it opens with very bright almost over- exposed lighting. Then changing to a more toned down light (in the market) with small areas of bright light signs. Cleverly, when 'snakes blood' become the topic of discussion for the two characters; red light is shone on the characters. This could represent the snake’s blood and it could also represent danger and some thing new and mysterious.
In the next show where Richard is about to drink the snakes blood the dominant light colour changes to blue from red. This could show a cooler atmosphere but also intensifies the danger.

Titles

The titles are placed sporadically; we are first given the companies that produced the film 'Twentieth Century Fox' and 'Figment Film'. Then while the opening scene plays out the name of the actor who plays Richard is revealed. It is revealed at the point where he drinks the snake’s blood, this particular part tells us that he is an adventureouse person who is open to try anything new. The colours used reflect the atmosphere at the time of the scene. The production companies are written in blue because the background is black and because it reflects the passing lights of the cars in the beginning, furthermore could show the clam before the storm, that nothing has actually happened yet, everything is calm. Leonardo DiCaprios name is written in orange because it reflects the high tension in the room where he drinks the snake’s blood and also the temperature of Bangkok.

Narrative

The plot isn't completely introduced though the opening sequence as there isn't enough speech for us to understand what will happen. However we do know that he is a foreigner in an Oriental country, this is clear as he is Caucasian while other people are oriental and though the large golden Buddha statue in the street. We assume at this point that Richard is the main protagonist, however as there is a voice over which indicates that this film will be a psychological film, his own person cold become the antagonist in this film, however at this point we are unsure of this. The snake can be a narrative enigma that the dangerous snakes are contained within a glass box but could by the end be free, wild and dangerous.