2006, USA
Advenutre, Crime, Drama, Thriller, War
In most countries diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but in Sierra Leone they are a means to an end. Whether that end is more guns or a ticket out of the country, they are worth far more than a trinket for the finger. Director Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai, Courage Under Fire) wants the world to know the true cost of a conflict diamond, and how much blood was shed on the way to the jewelers.
In 1999, Sierra Leone was in turmoil. In order to fund the Revolutionary United Front’s militant actions, these rebels force their fellow countrymen to dig for diamonds under deplorable conditions. Villages are brutally attacked, and after certain men are put to work to find diamonds, the smaller children are pulled from their families and brainwashed to become future soldiers. Young and malleable, they are shocked into submission and forced to become mindless killers.
In one such raid, proud and dedicated father Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou of In America, Amistad) is torn from his family, and his son becomes a child soldier. Meanwhile, diamond smuggler Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) has been busted for crossing a border with sheep filled with pretty stones. When they both end up in jail, Archer overhears someone accuse Vandy of discovering a sizeable pink diamond, and their fates are combined from thence forth.
Zwick means well and is obviously trying to inform his audience of a terrible and violent injustice in Africa. The film begins dryly enough at a G8 conference, in which the facts of the conflict diamond trade are expounded. The message is soon dropped for action, and Vandy and Archer are forever running just out of reach of a bullet. No doubt there were many violent atrocities surrounding this trade, but the focus of the film seems to be on the adventure and terror over the reality.
Jennifer Connelly soon appears in a disappointedly over-the-top performance as a concerned journalist who wants to uncover the truth and wake up the world. For someone investigating an extremely dangerous situation and supposedly with much experience, she is far too blunt in her questioning and inserts a few too many humanitarian catchphrases to make her character believable. Usually an exceptional and subtle actress, the script does not allow her any realism.
DiCaprio is always an enthusiastic actor, so his performance as an arrogant and seemingly invincible trader comes as no far stretch. Never one to sport an inconspicuous accent, DiCaprio turns on the Afrikaans vocals full tilt. As always, he is a capable actor, but it is hard to forget that he is acting.
The heart of the film centers around Hounsou’s character, and he is most effective as the concerned father who will risk everything to reunite his family. Vandy does not know how to be dishonest, which clashes with Archer who knows no other way. Archer does not acknowledge any reflection in these small trained soldiers, though he himself was forced into military action at an impressionable age. Perhaps this internal struggle could have been delved into further, rather than the focus on bullets and blood which becomes desensitizing.
Zwick has tackled a tough and unfortunately true state of affairs, but prefers to grab attention through action instead of words. Inserting a journalist into the story should have allowed for a more intelligent discussion, but instead her sympathies are conveyed through clichés. The message was received, but we had to wade through the aerial strikes and tough-talking smugglers to get to it.