Film Reviews

Blood Diamond

• Rating:
• Director: Edward Zwick
• Starring: Djimon Hounsou
• Details: US / 143mins (15A).

Amongst the chaos of Sierra Leone's civil war, fisherman Solomon Vandy (Hounsou) works hard to keep his family out of the troubles. Despite his efforts, Solomon is captured by the marauding RUF, separated from his family and forced to work in the diamond mines. There he discovers an extraordinary rough stone, which he hides before government forces raid the camp. In prison he meets gunrunner Danny Archer (Di Caprio), arrested for smuggling diamonds, and the two are forced to team up: Danny wants the diamond, Solomon wants to find his family. You can almost see the first draft of the script peeking through: a serious comment on how the western world's nonchalant attitude to what's happening on the African continent, and the media exploitation of the situation just to get a good story. Zwick takes this on board and wants middle class liberals, who want to feel guilty, to think about their actions the next time they buy a massive engagement ring. That's all well and good, but Zwick doesn't want to stop there: he needs bums on seats to make a profit, and to that end turns Blood Diamond into an action movie with a love story. The action movie stands up; the love angle is a real stinker. Trying to encompass all these elements, Zwick spreads himself too thinly, and messes up any serious message he hopes to convey with a few clunky scenes. The writers set their stall out early on: Solomon is captured and is in line to get his arm amputated just like everyone in front of him, but when it comes to Solomon, the leader - for no reason - shouts momentarily stops the carnage and waves Solomon on. This creates an impression of laziness; the writers write themselves into an explosive situation and then take the easiest possible way out of it. And it doesn't stop there: When Di Caprio, Hounsou and Connolly are ambushed by militiamen in the jungle, they get out of it by producing a camera and getting them to pose for a picture. Blood Diamond is littered with these little scenes that drag the movie down from its lofty ideals. Di Caprio elevates himself above the nonsense, however. He's on a roll at the moment, picking meaty roles and Blood Diamond is no different. His Archer is the unhappy medium of Nicholas Cage's unapologetic gunrunner in Lord Of War and Bruce Boxleitner's swashbuckler in Bring 'Em Back Alive. Di Caprio doesn't try to make us like Archer; he's out for his own good and doesn't pretend to be anything else than what he is - a mercenary who would, and does, put a bullet through anyone who gets in his way. This is a brave move for such a straightforward Hollywood blockbuster, and DiCaprio is the movie's saving grace. Zwick, to be fair, has made a raw movie and doesn't shy away from the senseless horror, but there's still a lasting impression that it's a facade and just another movie to him.

Review by Gavin Burke