On the Beach is a sober look at the threat of total nuclear war. An American submarine surfaces after a nuclear holocaust, arriving in Australia to engage one of the few remaining population centers. Yet, even in Australia, deadly radiation carried on the winds is only months away from snuffing out the rest of humanity.
It certainly had its moments of power and gravity, but these were often bogged down by the film’s overly long runtime and plenty of segments that could have been much stronger if they’d been cleaner and more concise. The film would have been pretty great if the whole thing had been more like the last 25 minutes, which were much clearer and affecting.
I also couldn’t tell if Anthony Perkins’ performance was just really bad, or if perhaps something was lost in translation across the eras.
The music was pretty baffling too. It rarely seemed to have anything to do with total annihilation of all life on earth.
I’m not saying I hated it, but I won’t be watching it again.
