DiCaprio Has Earned His Chops

Rating: 10/10 (28 March 2007)

Not being a very big Leonardo DiCaprio fan in the past, this year I've had a growing amount of respect for this young man as he proves his acting chops again and again. First it was within the excellent Scorsese film THE DEPARTED, and now he does another great job in BLOOD DIAMOND.
For some reason, this film stands out above The Departed for me. Where the Departed had an ensemble cast, Blood Diamond can make no such claim (although there is a sprinkling of well-knowns). Many African actors lend their previously hidden talents to the film, giving it a bit more authenticity than The Departed. Most notably among them is the buffed Djimon Hounsou (AMISTAD), a quiet man living in a quiet village that is torn apart by rebel fighters trying for a piece of the region's diamond trade. Djimon plays the smart and tough Solomon as he races to find his family and his son. After being imprisoned via slave labor by the rebels, Solomon finds a huge, rare, pink diamond and quickly buries it. Having been seen with the diamond, the rebel leader tries to hunt him down.
In the meantime, Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio, THE DEPARTED), a young opportunist from South Africa, is completely immersed in the illegal diamond trade. He runs into Maddy (Jennifer Connelly, DARK WATER), an attractive journalist from The States who infuses Danny with a sense of morality. Uncomfortable around Maddy, yet still attracted to her physically and emotionally, Danny sets out to find if the rumor he's been hearing about the large, pink diamond are true. He meets up with Solomon and the two form a tenuous bond; Danny wants the diamond so that he can escape Africa and thus his past, while Solomon sees it as a way to possibly save his missing son who's been captured and brainwashed by the rebels.
As Maddy's views of right and wrong spin Danny on his head, and Solomon's race to find his son sparks memories of his father, Danny's not only in for a physical battle, but one that'll force him to deal with his own immoral and prejudicial history.
Part nonfiction, part fiction, Blood Diamond forces the viewer to realize that the rocks they wear on their fingers may have come at a very bloody cost. The movie spares nothing to get its message across; there are children being dismembered, children carrying guns and spraying bullets onto innocent villagers, torture, explosive governmental flaws, and it's all surrounded by one terrible little stone: the diamond.
A very compelling film with DiCaprio dominating the screen (and rightfully so). His South African accent was spot-on and his internal battles of right and wrong are pulled off effortlessly.
This one's a must.