Blood Diamond

December 5th, 2006 by Scott Marks

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Blood Diamond (2006)

Directed by: Edward Zwick

Written by: Charles Leavitt

Genres: Adventure, Drama, Thriller

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly, Kagiso Kuypers, Arnold Vosloo, Antony Coleman, Benu Mabhena, Anointing Lukola, David Harewood, Basil Wallace, Jimi Mistry, Michael Sheen, Marius Weyers, Stephen Collins, Ntare Mwine

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

“Blood Diamond” is a big, loud, patronizing Hollywood blockbuster masquerading as a well-intentioned message movie.

In the late 1990s, diamond smuggling was the name of the game in Sierra Leone. The chaotic opening chase sequence, in which a fisherman and his young son dodge bullets and race past explosions, would be equally at home in Diamonds are Forever. Solomon (Djimon Hounsou), screaming in close-up, looks on as his family is taken from him. What? No slow motion? If you’re going to film clichés, at least do so with a scrap of conviction.

Solomon is put to work in the Sierra Leone diamond fields where, surprise of surprises, he uncovers the title bauble, an extraordinary one of a kind treasure. While on a faux bathroom break, Solomon buries the pink jewel much to the suspicion of M’ed (Ntare Mwine), his brutal guard.

In lock up, M’ed grills Solomon about the diamond’s existence. All of this is overheard by Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), an ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe who makes his living exchanging diamonds for arms. Both prisoners see this one shot rock as their ticket to freedom.

The woman in the picture is Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), a sexy American journalist bent on blowing the lid off of corrupt diamond merchants “who have chosen profit over principles.” At first Leo resists temptation, but before long he realizes that he needs her a lot more than she needs him.

Charles Leavitt over-stuffs his screenplay with equal parts hackneyed dialogue (“I like to get kissed before I get f*cked”) and divine intervention. I counted at least a half-dozen times throughout the film where fate sticks its foot out, generally in the form of rebel attackers, at just the precise moment when a character is forced to make a decision.

Solomon is about to be shot for pilfering the diamond when the rebel forces attack. Later on, Solomon’s decision to team with Danny is influenced by the sudden appearance of the bad guys. These rebel savages might be real-life terrors, but dramatically speaking they make the best plot advancers.

Isn’t it about time that critics left Leo alone? Those unable to look beyond his boyish good looks slammed his performance in Gangs of New York. He didn’t fit their idea of a violent street thug. Others were quick to disparage his Howard Hughes claiming that his baby face drained believability.

Simply put, Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the finest actors of his generation. Five minutes of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? are enough to put many of his contemporaries to shame. As Archer, he’s all guts and bravado with an accent that never falters. The film is almost worth seeing just for his performance.

Djimon Hounsou has a towering presence and he summons up the right amount of suffering that the part demands. Jennifer Connelly, miscast and lacking chemistry with her lead, appears to have signed on to help support a good cause.

A closing crawl asks us all to remember the film next time we shop for diamonds. Instead, I’ll be keeping Forrest Gump’s Dan Taylor in mind when I buy socks later this week.

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