Warner Brothers film.Cert: 15. 143 mins. dir: Edward Zwick
Senior executives in the diamond industry will be mightily relieved
that this much-hyped Hollywood film fails to land much more than a
glancing blow on its corporate targets.
Although billed as a damning indictment of the industry’s failure
to counter the sale of precious stones emanating from war-torn areas of
Africa, Blood Diamonds, set in Sierra Leone, is first and foremost an
action movie – and as such makes entertainment its priority.
There are plenty of passing references to corporate indifference to, or
even collusion in, the diamond-fuelled funding of internecine chaos
that serves as the backdrop to the film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio.
But for the most part they are indistinct and impressionistic.
Certainly the suits who feature in the film are no more held to blame
for the situation in Sierra Leone than any of the bandits, chancers,
politicians, or ordinary, desperate people it portrays. And there’s
even acknowledgement that the diamond industry has been trying to get
its act together.
Partly this arises because Blood Diamonds is actually a well-balanced
look at the entire picture and recognizes that there are no clear-cut
goodies or baddies.
But also it’s because the directors know they have little time to dwell
on such weighty matters if they are to maximize the excitement of the
plot.
Given its self-imposed limits, Blood Diamonds is unlikely to send
filmgoers onto the streets seeking immediate change. But there’s still
a fair chance it will get them thinking.
Peter Mason
