Danny Boyle has gone in recent years from being a competent, talented director to something of a national treasure, shooting to Best Director Oscar glory with Slumdog Millionaire, and then directing the opening ceremony of last year's London Olympics with such aplomb that he ended up being offered an OBE, which he in turn refused, preferring to remain "a man of the people". There's no denying the director's outstanding ability over his largely consistent career - albeit with a few permissible blips - and most impressively, he's proven himself capable in a multitude of genres, from psychological thriller, to science fiction, to drama, and even a family film. Without question one of Britain's best directors, we're going to rank Danny Boyle's 10 features to date, to celebrate the release of #10, Trance, which hit UK cinemas just this week... Counting down from #10, here we go...
10. The Beach (2000)
Working from Alex Garland's acclaimed novel, Danny Boyle's The Beach begins very promisingly indeed, with Leonardo DiCaprio's free-spirited back-packer arriving on a seeming utopia of a beach, where hedonistic living is the order of the day, outside of any regular societal parameters. The pleasure is palpable for the first two acts of the film, and Boyle directs with the sort of vibrant energy only he can, yet as is a problem with a few of his films, he can't quite stick the landing, and act three turns into a tonally jarring psychological thriller in which DiCaprio has to fight for his life. Garland's novel was different in a few key areas, with the movie clearly trying to make a sexier, more commercially appealing movie even if that's not what was on the written page. It crumbles spectacularly at the end, but at least we have fun getting there; DiCaprio sheds his squeaky clean image ably, and the cinematography is gorgeous.