Strong film despite the problems with merging a real horror with a traditional Hollywood narrative

Rating: Null/10 (1 October 2007)

Separated from his family by rebels, fisherman Solomon is forced to work in the bloody diamond mines, locating diamonds that the rebels use to fund their war against the government. Danny Archer is a former mercenary who now smuggles diamonds out of the conflict zone into neighbouring Liberia so that they can be documented as legal. Maddy Bowen is a journalist, in the area to make a difference by exposing such illegal activity and the suffering it produces. When Solomon finds and hides a large diamond, Danny and Maddy both get involved in his life and on a journey into the horror of the illegal diamond trade.
I wasn't sure how to approach this film because it is so clearly a "message" film on a topical issue and Hollywood doesn't always have the best track record on this. However on the other hand it has been voted very highly on IMDb (one of the best 250 films ever made apparently) and generally well received by critics. Watching it you can see the duality at work within the production because on one hand it is trying to make sure we understand just how much suffering and death is associated with and supported by this trade but then it also needs to deliver a film to entertain the masses in order to get this message through. The meshing of these two aims is not always very successful but generally the approach works to a point. At some points it is quite shocking to see the casual treatment of life, the creation of child soldiers etc but then at other times it is more of an action movie, with Danny dodging bullets while women and children are hit. The story requires a plot and this doesn't really explore the reality of the trade so much as use it as a backdrop for a simple story where good prevails. Again I know this is a necessary part of getting the message to a mass audience, but it is hard to see where "good" is in this story.
So really I found myself wanting a much harder ride from the film  I genuinely wanted to feel angry and shocked by it but the approach maybe minimised that for me. This aside, the film is actually pretty good and it works well as a dramatic narrative within the setting of the diamond trade.
Zwick can do "epic" and indeed this is just what he does. OK, perhaps he is also responsible for some of the reality and horror being sucked out of it in the meantime, but you cannot really have an issue with his direction when it comes to the sweep of the film and specifically some of the bigger action shots. His cast are roundly good as well. DiCaprio does well with the accent, even if it takes a second or two to get used to. I liked that he never seemed to be undergoing a significant "realisation" as the film went on  he was better than that and he knew his character. Hounsou is better and does dominate the film thanks mainly to the "better" material handed to him; he is convincing and drew me into his character. Connelly doesn't do anything wrong but is only so-so, again due to her character's place in the script. Support from Sheen, Vosloo, and others is roundly solid.
Overall then a strong film despite the problems with merging a real horror with a traditional Hollywood narrative.