Brilliant all around...powerful, intense, and thrilling. One of my all time favorites

Rating: 10/10 (9 December 2006)

Blood Diamond is among the most impactful films of recent memory. It ranks up there with films such as Schindler's List and United 93. Similar to United 93, Blood Diamond brings into focus an atrocity which is affecting our world now: the struggle for control of the diamonds in Africa. This film focuses on the perspectives of a diamond smuggler named Danny Archer (Oscar Nominee Leonardo DiCaprio), a fisherman called Solomon Vandy (Oscar Nominee Djimon Hounsou), and a journalist named Maddy Bowen (Oscar Winner Jennifer Connelly) as they struggle to understand each other during a search for the Blood Diamond in the middle of war torn Africa. After Solomon is separated from his family after a rebel invasion, he discovers the blood diamond, which he quickly hides during another rebel attack. Soon after, Archer recruits him to find the diamond with the promise that he'll see his family again.
The film does not pull any punches when showing us the conflict between the governments of Africa and the rebels plotting to overthrow them. We also get brief glimpses of the political side of the conflict, but it is mostly the up close and personal violence. This film is not for the faint of heart in that the violence and subject are not physically overdone (there is a fair share of graphic violence and gore), but the are emotionally disturbing. Most of the violence involves children and unimaginably cruel men.
The acting behind Blood Diamond is among the best of the year, without a doubt. Only 'The Departed' can boast this kind of talent. Leonardo DiCaprio is simply brilliant as Danny Archer, the flawed, intelligent, and dedicated smuggler who will stop at nothing to get the diamond. DiCaprio gives us the best character of the year, a character motivated by greed and desperation, but one who is still human and can feel after witnessing so much horror in his life. DiCaprio commands the screen and your attention for the entire film. Easily his best performance of his career. DiCaprio disappears into the role of Danny Archer, and many times you'll have to remind yourself that it's him...Archer is, at times, scary and emotionless, but at the same time, DiCaprio shows that he is a truly good person. With one of the most powerful performances I've seen, Djimon Hounsou will blow you away with is amazing and emotional performance. I believe he should have won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar over Alan Arkin (no knocking Arkin, he was great). Hounsou already has the reputation for this kind of thing, but he blew me out of the water with his performance in the film. His role as the man who is as dedicated to finding his family as Archer is to finding the diamond is so emotional and gut wrenching, that it's not hard to love him. Hounsou and DiCaprio feed off each other in a way that makes their roles even more believable. They both disappear into their roles and make this film brilliant. Jennifer Connelly is, as usual, excellent. While she is absent from most of the film, she is great whenever she gets on there. She has good chemistry with DiCaprio, and their early meetings provide us with some comic relief. Like Hounsou and DiCaprio, Connelly's character is extremely dedicated. All three of the characters are very similar: they are all truly good people, all of them are dedicated to their goal, no matter what the cost, and all three of them change somewhat throughout the film.
Edward Zwick's work on this film rivals his work on Glory and The Last Samurai, and that is saying something. The music is one of the key parts of the film, as it makes the scenes even more powerful. The mood of the film is established perfectly by Zwick. Once the film gets going, you'll know exactly what it's about. Another great thing that Zwick does is that he makes the messages and themes easily visible to us as an audience. Those themes are dedication and survival. With Blood Diamond, Zwick brings to the stage an issue that is silently affecting the world. These wars in Africa have been reduced, but not been eliminated. With the graphic violence and emotionally moving acting, the foursome of Zwick, DiCaprio, Hounsou, and Connelly have constructed a film that stands for so much more than just an adventure film. I recommend Blood Diamond to all age 17 and older, but those who couldn't take Schindler's List or United 93 probably won't be able to take this either. It is a truly impactful and important film. A must see.
10/10 --spy