This movie has to be one of the most powerful cinematic experiences I’ve had in ages. Having seen it twice now - on the big screen and on DVD - I am convinced that Leonardo DiCaprio is fast proving himself THE actor of his generation. This guy has just blown me away in his last three films with his intensity and his ability to get under the skin of a character and make them come alive. Whether he’s a mob infiltrator (The Departed) a loony billionaire (The Aviator) or an emotionally scarred diamond smuggler, as in Blood Diamond, Leonardo Di Caprio makes you care about his conflicted characters.

My only complaint thus far is Leo, (SPOILER HERE) stop dying in your movies. I don’t like it, and I think many hot blooded women and devoted fans out there would agree with me. If you need a juicy, flashy role where you get to live, then drop me a line. I’ll write you a script!

Blood Diamond is set in the impoverished African nation of Sierra Leone in 1999, amidst the bloody chaos of a long-running civil war and the illegal diamond trade which supports it. “Blood”, or conflict diamonds are gems that have been mined by enslaved workers, smuggled out of the country by insurgent rebel forces and sold to European buyers to fund weapons.

This is an intense film, and not for the faint hearted. Powerful, graphic and carried by stellar performances, Blood Diamond had me crying on and off from beginning to end. With enough action and suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat, and complex characters suspicious of each other’s motives and politics, this film is electric and fascinating. Danny Archer (Di Caprio) is an ex-mercenary/smuggler desperate to make his fortune and get out of his native Africa; Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly) is the impassioned foreign correspondent who has to believe she can make a difference, while Soloman Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is too busy trying to save his son from life as a child soldier to worry about politics. If there is a single catchcry repeated again and again it is T.I.A - This is Africa - a helpless and sometimes cynical shoulder shrug to explain the death and mayhem that has tormented this continent for centuries.

With the release of Blood Diamond presenting a public relations headache for international diamond traders, The De Beers Group, they have made it clear that conflict diamonds make up a mere 1% of the diamond market today. This is of course reassuring news. However, I can’t help but feel the best you can say for ANY diamond that originates from Africa is it comes from the suffering and exploitation of the world’s poorest people. Just so us rich white folks can flash off our bling.

Blood Diamond is a film that stays with you long after the credits. And if you’re like me and find it hard to look at your diamonds in the same way again, you can always alleviate some of that guilt with a donation to Amnesty International’s ‘Child Soldiers’ Appeal. It worked for me.

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