A diplomat on the hunt for his wifes murderer uncovers a treacherous conspiracy that will destroy millions of innocent people - unless he can reveal its sinister roots. Based on the novel by john le carre. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/23/2007 Starring: Ralph Fiennes Rachel Weisz Run time: 129 minutes Rating: R
The Constant Gardener is the kind of thriller that hasn't been seen since the 1970s: Smart, politically complex, cinematically adventurous, genuinely thrilling and even heartbreaking. Mild diplomat Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes, The English Patient, Schindler's List) has a loose cannon of a wife named Tessa (Rachel Weisz, The Shape of Things, The Mummy), who's digging into the dirty doings of a major pharmaceutical company in Kenya. Her brutal murder forces Justin to continue her investigation down some deadly avenues. This simple plot description doesn't capture the rich texture and slippery, sinuous movement of The Constant Gardener, superbly directed by Fernando Meirelles (Oscar-nominated for his first film, City of God). Shifting back and forth in time, the movie skillfully captures the engaging romance between Justin and Tessa (Fiennes shows considerably more chemistry with Weisz than he had with Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan) and builds a vivid, gripping, and all-too-justified paranoia. And on top of it all, the movie is beautiful, due to both its incredible shots of the African landscape (which at times is haunting and unearthly) and the gorgeous cinematography. Featuring an all-around excellent cast, including Bill Nighy (Love Actually), Pete Postlethwaite (In the Name of the Father), and Danny Huston (Silver City). --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Political Thriller:
Shadow Watcher
Nobody Drowns in Mineral Lake Part mystery, part love story, part political thriller, director Fernando Meirelles' THE CONSTANT GARDENER was one of the very best films of 2005. Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz star in this adaptation of John LeCarre's novel that takes some effective shots at the international pharmaceutical business. Fiennes plays a rather passive British diplomat, stationed in Africa, and Rachel is his activist wife who too often sticks her nose into very... more info
boring:
I could not watch the whole movie as I found it boring and not credible in parts (when Tessa erupts in an outburst at a lecture). Fiennes' character's reaction was not believable as Tessa came across as a petulant brainwashed student spouting all the rhetoric one is so used to hearing (and with le carre's predictable bias - USA bad UK bad WAR bad, blah blah...) I found Tessa's character cloying and could not identify enough with anyone in this film to make it thru the end. Glad I borrowed it from the... more info
Drug company profits over people:
So black people in Africa and prisoners in American prisons make ideal
test subject for drugs that may have high LD50s?
The young lady had a soul and a desire to make the world better,
for which she was silenced? And her husband may get to the bottom of it the very hard way?
Tobacco, Opium and global warming for the oil companies...history is nothing
if not repeating itself?
Beautiful Film on "Corporate Murder":
This is one of Rachel Weisz's best performances. The film although drags here and there, it does tell the story of how pharmaceutical companies ruthlessly do business in Africa. "This is how Africa gets f*cked", spoken by a character towards the end, sums it all up.
With gorgeous colors, and the beautiful landscape of Kenya, the story jumps back and forth and really does a good job of showing the love between Ralph Fiennes and Weisz.
Not for action fans, but for anyone who likes to think about... more info
