Why does star of Blood Diamond and The Departed often kick the bucket onscreen?
Leonardo DiCaprio's been clapping quite enthusiastically at all the pre-Oscar awards shows recently. His hunky Blood Diamond costar, Djimon Hounsou, has had a couple of nominations (but no wins) for his role as a father desperately trying to rescue his son from rebel forces.
It's almost as if DiCaprio is genuinely excited for his buddy and not too pushed about winning awards himself. I guess I'll never know if it's true. What's almost interesting to me is how Leo chooses to portray characters who frequently perish at the end of the film.
Cases in point: Titanic - Jack freezes and drowns in the Atlantic while lovely Rose floats on a wooden door; The Departed - the undercover cop is shot coming out of an elevator; Blood Diamond - the diamond smuggler dies ensuring Hounsou's character (and his on-screen son) make a swift getaway. The evidence is pretty strong, huh?
Yeah, I know Leo lived to see the sunrise in many of his other films - What's Eating Gilbert Grape for instance.... and Gangs of New York, but it's intriguing that he's willing to take on roles that end in his demise. You don't see it too much. Often the bad guys die not the good ones.
So is he doing it for artistic integrity? Or is he doing it to prove that he doesn't care about his celebrity? That he believes his work is more important than his fame - so bugger it if he kicks the bucket at the end of 90 minutes? Judge me as a creative artist, he thinks, and not as a matinee idol.
I'll be watching on Oscar night to see if his strategy pays off with Academy voters....
