Film Critique: Blood Diamond
by Brent Scott & Zaria Fortson-Linton
In the movie Blood Diamond , two paths intertwine with each other that creates a huge feud within the blood diamond smuggling system. Throughout the movie you’re taken on this emotional rollercoaster that makes you begin to think about how we as consumers look at the luxurious items placed before us. The diamond industry is a topic that many people would overlook, but the elements of acting and camera work drive you into the movie.
Blood Diamond was just as original as the cast was. Pairing Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou was something which at first would catch people off guard, but watching the duo share a screen makes them a match made in heaven. DiCaprio plays the role of Danny Archer, a diamond smuggler, while Hounsou plays the role of Solomon Vandy - a family man whom was a fisher forced to become diamond mining slave against his will. Throughout the story, these two characters cross paths in order to get what they want. Jennifer Connelly could be argued to having a minor role or a major role into the movie. She plays Maddy Bowen, an American journalist who will help the two men throughout the journey. This movie would gain the attention of its viewers because of DiCaprio having a lead role, but Hounsou's performance will have you feeling for him and routing for him to get what he needs back. DiCaprio's past performances in movies aren't as gritty as it is in this movie, which he can earn praise from, but it was Hounsou's performance that gets the most attention. What should have been an Oscar-winning performance, shows the viewers what Hounsou has to offer and will make those realize that DiCaprio's performance was O.K. but it isn't what you would normally expect from the "Titanic" star. The casting of this movie was amazingly put together along with the story's meaning, considering it was a social commentary.
Many people when thinking of Africa think of poverty, disease, and disgust; but we feel Edward Zwick does an astonishing job at the camera work to show that Africa isn’t just this diamond in the rough. He does several establishing overhead shots to show the terrain and true beauty of Africa, such as the crisp green mountains and clear blue oceans. This is normally shown after a heartfelt scene where you would see a child holding a AK-47 toward soldiers of Liberia or some town being taken over and women and children being killed. Edward Zwick abuses this element to show that not everything is covered in darkness in Africa. Edward Zwick also is great at showing the tension and emotion between Solomon (Djimon Hounsou) and Danny (Leonardo DiCaprio). One scene we felt was played outamazingly was when Danny and Solomon were fleeing from the rebels due to Solomon blowing their cover. We are then presented with the next day as it seems they successfully evading the rebels. The camera is focused on Solomon and you hear a stern voice in the background, it is Danny speaking. They present this as if it were in the perspective Danny as he circles around Solomon explaining that if he ever gets them in a close call like that again he’ll kill him. Not only would it give Danny’s perspective of Solomon but they would show Solomon’s perspective of Danny as he was walks in and out of the bushes cutting something up but unaware due to the objects in the way. With the over head pan shot we are able to view Solomon from all sides which we felt was trying to show they Danny was instilling fear into Solomon. The camera work gave us the nitty gritty of what happens with conflict diamonds which really kept us on the edge of our seat.
We felt this movie gave us a lot of insight on what happens with conflict diamonds that we didn’t know about before. It doesn’t hold back with showing graphic scenes with children shooting guns and doing drugs which is a good thing because this isn’t an issue that should be sugarcoated. Even though Blood Diamond was released in 2006, “conflict diamonds” is still an occurring issue that many people either still don’t recognize, or purposely overlook because they themselves feel as though one person can’t change an issue that’s really vast. The same year this movie hit theaters, a documentary called Blood Diamonds, a made-for-tv documentary was broadcast on the History Channel, giving people more facts on “conflict diamonds” which also shed light to people who were unaware of this topic. Although the documentary had facts on this world issue, the movie is what allowed more people to understand this controversy.
Blood Diamond was just as original as the cast was. Pairing Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou was something which at first would catch people off guard, but watching the duo share a screen makes them a match made in heaven. DiCaprio plays the role of Danny Archer, a diamond smuggler, while Hounsou plays the role of Solomon Vandy - a family man whom was a fisher forced to become diamond mining slave against his will. Throughout the story, these two characters cross paths in order to get what they want. Jennifer Connelly could be argued to having a minor role or a major role into the movie. She plays Maddy Bowen, an American journalist who will help the two men throughout the journey. This movie would gain the attention of its viewers because of DiCaprio having a lead role, but Hounsou's performance will have you feeling for him and routing for him to get what he needs back. DiCaprio's past performances in movies aren't as gritty as it is in this movie, which he can earn praise from, but it was Hounsou's performance that gets the most attention. What should have been an Oscar-winning performance, shows the viewers what Hounsou has to offer and will make those realize that DiCaprio's performance was O.K. but it isn't what you would normally expect from the "Titanic" star. The casting of this movie was amazingly put together along with the story's meaning, considering it was a social commentary.
Many people when thinking of Africa think of poverty, disease, and disgust; but we feel Edward Zwick does an astonishing job at the camera work to show that Africa isn’t just this diamond in the rough. He does several establishing overhead shots to show the terrain and true beauty of Africa, such as the crisp green mountains and clear blue oceans. This is normally shown after a heartfelt scene where you would see a child holding a AK-47 toward soldiers of Liberia or some town being taken over and women and children being killed. Edward Zwick abuses this element to show that not everything is covered in darkness in Africa. Edward Zwick also is great at showing the tension and emotion between Solomon (Djimon Hounsou) and Danny (Leonardo DiCaprio). One scene we felt was played outamazingly was when Danny and Solomon were fleeing from the rebels due to Solomon blowing their cover. We are then presented with the next day as it seems they successfully evading the rebels. The camera is focused on Solomon and you hear a stern voice in the background, it is Danny speaking. They present this as if it were in the perspective Danny as he circles around Solomon explaining that if he ever gets them in a close call like that again he’ll kill him. Not only would it give Danny’s perspective of Solomon but they would show Solomon’s perspective of Danny as he was walks in and out of the bushes cutting something up but unaware due to the objects in the way. With the over head pan shot we are able to view Solomon from all sides which we felt was trying to show they Danny was instilling fear into Solomon. The camera work gave us the nitty gritty of what happens with conflict diamonds which really kept us on the edge of our seat.
We felt this movie gave us a lot of insight on what happens with conflict diamonds that we didn’t know about before. It doesn’t hold back with showing graphic scenes with children shooting guns and doing drugs which is a good thing because this isn’t an issue that should be sugarcoated. Even though Blood Diamond was released in 2006, “conflict diamonds” is still an occurring issue that many people either still don’t recognize, or purposely overlook because they themselves feel as though one person can’t change an issue that’s really vast. The same year this movie hit theaters, a documentary called Blood Diamonds, a made-for-tv documentary was broadcast on the History Channel, giving people more facts on “conflict diamonds” which also shed light to people who were unaware of this topic. Although the documentary had facts on this world issue, the movie is what allowed more people to understand this controversy.