Blood Diamond (2006)

	Directed by: Edward Zwick	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama/Action/War NORWEGIAN TITLE Blood Diamond RUNNING TIME 143 minutes
	Produced by: Gillian Gorfil Marshall Herskovitz Graham King Darrell Roodt Paula Weinstein Edward Zwick
	Written by: Charles Leavitt

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Danny Archer	Leonardo DiCaprio	½
Solomon Vandy	Djimon Hounsou	½
Maddy Bowen	Jennifer Connelly
Dia Vandy	Kagiso Kuypers	½
Colonel Coetzee	Arnold Vosloo
Cordell Brown	Antony Coleman
Jassie Vandy	Benu Mabhena
Captain Poison	David Harewood
Simmons	Michael Sheen
Ambassador Collins	Stephen Collins

Review

Camouflaged as an idealistic message movie, this semi-exploitative action film by Edward Zwick is largely in the same business as most of the people it depicts. One can of course argue that this at least makes it free of hypocrisy, which would be an amusing piece of irony, but what prevents Blood Diamond from being a truly accomplished film is Zwick's inclination to always pile on a little more, thus satisfying genre conventions at the expense of realism.

The latest in the series of films depicting riveting situations in Central African countries, Blood Diamond is an at times gripping and constantly brutal account of the civil war in Sierra Leone in the mid-90s – and the illegal diamond industry that thrived in its wake. The brutality and violence are contrasted against a very alluring and romanticized view of Africa, for which Zwick deserves praise. He must, however, share it with his two main instruments for this portrayal. Djimon Hounsou's performance is powerful, if somewhat forced and overdone in a few important scenes, whereas Leonardo DiCaprio fortifies his position as the leading actor of his generation. His performance here is reminiscent of Marlon Brando in his prime – from the complete delve into character, to the expressiveness and that showy accent. After his feats in recent years, DiCaprio looks to have finally found his adult screen persona. Here he steals every scene he's in and elevates the film's impact.

Unfortunately, Zwick returns to some of his old sins. Until the final thirty minutes, not much is wrong with Blood Diamond, except for its somewhat excessive running time. There are several thought-provoking depictions that keep you interested. Unfortunately, the ending is all about simple solutions and cheap sentimentality that weaken the film's integrity. Like Jennifer Connelly's poorly written character, Blood Diamond has so much flashy idealism and transparent goodness that not even a mushy James Newton Howard score seems out of place. But please don't let that undermine DiCaprio's bravura performance.