Blood Diamond (or, Romancing The Stone)

If you have been keeping up to speed with my movie going habits, you may have noticed a couple of trends. I have been resolutely unimpressed with many of the more serious films I've been catching recently and I have been snapping up the light and fluffy fare. (Byron is still utterly perplexed at my apathy towards Babel.)

You may have also noticed that I have been more than a little concerned about the flat, all-too-real, all-too-balanced tone of many films being released at the moment.

Then, along comes Blood Diamond.

In many ways Ed Zwick's Di Caprio starrer is cut from the same cloth as the hamstrung films I've seen of late. It is an "issues" film - it deals with the turmoil in Africa and is quite harrowing in its depiction of the violence. It also tries to position itself squarely in the real by focussing on ambiguous characters.

Where Blood Diamond stands out is in its plotting. It is an ambitious film. Three story arcs, which constantly interweave and compete for screentime. Everything is tangled together, there are three journeys, three characters who are constantly working together or playing each other to reach their goals. The motivations of the characters become the essence of the film. Like I say: ambitious.

Do they pull it off? Not really, but it is an intriguing attempt. The biggest problem is that there are too many movies crammed in there. At times it feels like a firm character drama, at others it feels like a Tom Clancy actioner, then it is a deeply personal take on troubled Africa. Blood Diamond is a confused film but it eventually ties together in a way that makes sense. The duplicitous actions of its characters grow into real relationships that edge towards believability.

All in all, you should check it out. It is worth seeing for Djimon alone. Connelly is solid too. It is an interesting film and while it is not as moving as it could have been it is certainly visceral and thought provoking.