Blood Diamond was clearly made with good intentions. It aims to educate the audience about the illegal diamond trade and how it fuels conflict in Africa, but it does this through the story of three incredibly stereotypical main characters: Leonardo DiCaprio as a white Rhodesian diamond smuggler who wants out, Jennifer Connelly as an American magazine journalist with a heart and Djimon Hounsou as an innocent local exploited by everyone he encounters.
The narrative touches on such important subjects as the use of children as soldiers, the plight of refugees and the behaviour of weapons traders and it doesn't shy away from conveying the brutality of these needless wars. However, as the film attempts to cover so much ground, it often ends up feeling shallow and fails to do justice to the serious subject matter. Some characters appear only long enough to present a moral message, without adding anything to the plot.
The trouble is, the film never manages to rise above the patronising way it delivers these messages and never achieves a level where you really care about the characters. We're supposed to be rooting for Hounsou, as he struggles to relocate his family, but his fisherman's innocence is so overplayed that it destroys any credibility he brings to the role. The guy represents the victims of war, but the fact he can't even grasp the idea of lying makes it difficult to believe he's even a real person.
For me, the only redeeming feature of this film is DiCaprio himself. It's good to see him playing the part of someone you really don't like and amusing to hear him trying out his Zimbabwean accent. He handles the weak script well and makes a slightly more believable character than the others, although the film puts him through a predictable and frankly unnecessary personal transformation, as he does everything he can to locate the blood diamond of the title.
Overall, this film has it's heart in the right place, but really... it's one to miss.
Blood Diamond
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