A strange mix

Rating: 7/10 (16 March 2007)

What an odd film. I usually go into watch a film with a bit of background knowledge concerning plot or the general theme. I never saw the trailer for this one so i had no idea what to expect. To basic plot is about a civil war in Sera Leon and the murder and exploitation of its own people for the acquisition of its diamonds. Instead of helping the people in the region to free themselves from the tyranny of the rebels who are hell bent on using there own people as slaves to collect and harvest diamonds, the governments of the west exploit them further by aiding the rebels with money and fire arms. There are a few sub plots concerning the political back drop. The problem is its not really that interesting or entertaining. Thankfully there a few of these scenes and the story focuses more on the three lead charterer's and their own individual stories. Decaprio plays a diamond smuggler at odds with himself and his country, and is good in this but I'm not sure about his South African accent. It seemed forced in certain parts but this is only a minor grip. Jennifer Connellys plays a reporter in the midst of the turmoil. Her character seemed a little clichéd at the start with her presence only serving as a love interest but as the film progress's we soon learn more about her motivations and her own personal struggle. Djimon Hounsou really stood out in this in his role. I remember him in Gladiator, however he was a bit wooden there but wasn't given much material to work with. He has more to do in this film and steals every scene with a very genuine performance. My only problem with this film was what it was trying to be. It was a mix of different genres and as a result it felt a bit disjointed. I wasn't sure if i was watching an action adventure, action drama, war/romance or some combination of the above. For the most part this strange mix actually worked and combined to make a very watchable film. I don't think i would watch it again but the performances from its lead characters (especially Djimon Hounsou) make it 2 hours well spent.