Blood Diamond, a film filled with heartfelt emotion interrupted by moments of extreme violence, brings watchers into the lives of two very different men whose adventures are intertwined when they set out to find a very rare and highly touted diamond. Although quite a weak storyline, viewers are captured in the raw emotion continually portrayed by the phenomenal acting of Leonardo DiCaprio (Danny Archer) and Djimon Hounsou (Soloman Vandy). From unceasing massacring and blood-shed to the stripped down emotion of a father who has lost his wife and children, this film has it all. The storyline and factual events will hit viewers’ right between the eyes, forcing them to really think about how they live.
Award winning performances by both Djimon Hounsou and Leonardo DiCaprio really brought this movie to life. Mr. Hounsou goes deep into the heart of his character Soloman Vandy, and gives us a performance we cannot forget. A fisherman trying to make a good life for his wife and children, he represents the general populace in Africa and hits on many of the emotions that people would have felt during these hard times: love, hate, anger, happiness, sadness, bravery, and fear. I have never seen such stripped down emotion by an actor before. Your heart breaks for his character when you look into his eyes after crucial events such as when his family is stripped from him and when his son does not recognize him in the mining camp.
DiCaprio loses himself in the character of Danny Archer, a diamond smuggler who wants to get out of the business and sees his opportunity when he hears about the discovery of a priceless diamond. At first glance we see him as a heartless man who only cares about money, but as the movie continues we see that his intentions are much deeper than that. He does a fantastic job of hiding his true emotions by covering them up with very selfish intentions. However, he seems to redeem himself in his final scene with an act of heroism and selflessness...