Blood Diamond Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)December 6th, 2006
BLOOD DIAMOND
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
Long, predictable and very simplistic, BLOOD DIAMOND doesn't disappoint viewers who measure their movies by the count of bullets and dead bodies. Even in the vast vistas of Africa, where it is set, the movie's cinematography is as ugly, washed-out and uninviting as the story is clichéd and ultimately relatively pointless. As the central character diamond smuggler Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) explains to journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), "In America, it's bling-bling, but here it's
bling-bang."
Is BLOOD DIAMOND racist, realistic or a bit of both? With words and images, the movie argues bluntly and almost convincingly that black Africans have been slaughtering each other forever and will continue to do so. We are lectured that whites should feel significant guilt for making the intolerable situation worse by trafficking in and buying "conflict diamonds," which helps finance the carnage. But the cynical message of the film is that the situation is hopeless, regardless of the action by the West. "People kill each other as a way of life here," Danny explains to Maddy in a typically simplistic line. "It has always been that way."
As directed by Edward Zwick (THE LAST SAMURAI) and scripted by Charles Leavitt (K-PAX), the movie is one long journey for Danny, Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) and sometimes Maddy, as they go to retrieve an extremely large diamond that Solomon buries soon after the movie begins. Along the way, there are lots and lots of explosions and shootings, including many by and of very young kids with machine guns. Typical scenes of confusing mayhem have bloodthirsty rebels or soldiers showing up in a village and then brutally killing every man, woman and child in sight. Sometimes, they maim rather than murder. "The government says the future is in your hands," one of a long string of evil men tells a group of young kids about to have their hands chopped off in this film, which should have been rated NC-17. "No more hands; no more voting."
The acting by DiCaprio and Hounsou is good, but I don't think either comes close to deserving the Oscar buzz that has surrounded their work. DiCaprio does try hard to get his African accent just right, but the result is more a decrease in decipherability than an increase in authenticity. Poor Connelly, however, is given the thankless job of trying -- but failing -- to put some life into her vastly underwritten character.
If you want to see a much better movie that covers similar ground, skip BLOOD DIAMOND entirely and see THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND. The latter film features much more moving and lucid storytelling, and with a lot more intelligence and nuance.
BLOOD DIAMOND runs way too long at 2:23. It is rated R for "strong violence and language" and would be acceptable for older teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, December 8, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: [email protected]
***********************************************************************
Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email?
Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
