After the disappointing The Last Samurai, Ed Zwick mostly rebounds with a more important and relevant modern story about the diamond trade in Sierra Leone, a small country in West Africa. Djimon Hounsou is a fisherman whose son is kidnapped by a resistance group RUF (Revolutionary United Front). His wife and daughters are sent into exile and he is forced to work in a labor camp where he finds a large diamond. Leonardo DiCaprio, a diamond smuggler, overhears that Hounsou has buried it and offers to use his connections to help locate Hounsou's entire family - in exchange for the diamond.
Hounsou provides an impassioned powerhouse performance and his scenes with his family are the heart and soul of the film. DiCaprio is surprisingly effective as a former mercenary who wheels and deals his way across the continent. The accent is believable and he nails his emotional scenes. Even more amazing, he is believable as a would-be action star. The action scenes have an urgency and are well-staged. This is easily Zwick's best movie since Glory.
It's too bad the dialogue alternates between interesting facts and contrived movie banter. The movie struggles for humor, but never really succeeds. Jennifer Connelly tries hard but her role as a journalist/typical female movie love interest remains mostly routine. But there is so much done right (including the excellent score), that it's easy to recommend. Zwick keeps his lecturing to a minimum but the film still gives us materialistic Americans something to reflect on. B
Note to guys: If your special lady is busting your chops about a huge engagement ring or set of earrings, ask her if she wants to watch a movie with Leo in exotic Africa romancing a stone and a girl. You'll save a fortune.
Brutal violence alert: In an early scene, a hand is cut off.
3 comments:
I agree. It's nice to see a film on an important subject that's entertaining and not too preachy. I did think the movie could have been tightened up a tad, especially during the journey back to recover the diamond. Leo proves that The Departed is no fluke. There is a man's man behind that pretty face. That said, the Connelly/DiCaprio romance never feels more than staged, which was a little surprising and would have made some of the later scenes a little difficult to swallow if I didn't want to believe so badly. The intersection of love, ethics, international politics and the casualties that ensue reminded me a bit of 2001's under-appreciated Spy Game, although, truthfully, that grounds been mined at least as far back as Casablanca.
I liked it a lot, especially Leo. "TIA" and some of the other details were interesting and provided a good background for the story. I always pay attention when Ed Zwick does something, although Last Samurai was terrible.
B+ for me, for the record.
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