The Constant Gardener (2005)

good back-story, and good acting

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The Constant Gardener (2005) directed by Fernando Meirelles and based on a novel by John le Carré, is an international thriller. It also had international locations--England, Germany, Kenya, and Sudan.The movie is what you'd expect from Le Carré--gripping, powerful, and hard to predict. However, this film also had a statement to make. The statement is that the governments of wealthy nations collude with Big Pharma--and, of course, with other corporations--to use poor people in poor nations for their own profit.According to the website, The British High Commission in Kenya "maintains and develops relations between the UK and Kenya." In the movie, Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) is a British diplomat who is posted to Kenya. His wife, Tessa, (Rachel Weisz) accompanies him.Tessa is like a terrier, as Justin says. She knows there is dirty business going on in regard to the distribution of a new medicine for tuberculosis. The plot moves forward from there. Bad things happen when you least expect them, no one has clean hands, and virtue is rarely rewarded.Both Fiennes and Weisz are extraordinarily talented actors, and they bring their talents and skills to their parts. (Weisz won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in this film.) Bill Nighy brings his great acting skills to the role of Sir Bernard Pellegrin, who is Quayle's boss. Pellegrin may have the dirtiest hands of all.There were several flaws in the plot. (I didn't read the book, so I don't know if they were Fernando Meirelles's or John le Carré's flaws.) A scene at a diplomatic reception wouldn't have happened. Tessa is a diplomat's wife. She wouldn't confront one of the bad guys in so vicious and public a fashion. A seasoned diplomat has a letter that will ruin him if revealed. He might have shown it to someone, if the reward were great enough. However, he would never let it out of his hands. Still, most of the film appears realistic, and the plot is fascinating.I had a problem with the editing between two scenes. (Granted, the editor was nominated for an Oscar.) We see Quayle being brutally beaten in one scene. In the next frame, he has a few minor nicks on his face. How much time has passed? I don't like to quibble, but this was a major film with talented actors. We overlook matters like this in Indie films, but not in blockbusters.As I've written, the acting was superb. However, even with all this acting talent, The Constant Gardener would be just another good film adaptation of one of James Le Carré's thriller novels. What makes the difference is the on-location photography. Director Meirelles pulled out all the stops to show us Africa. We see scene after scene of the African people and the African landscapes . This movie literally has a cast of thousands. It's one of the most exciting and colorful on-location movies I've ever seen. The film also contains some great African music. Many people don't bother to watch the movie credits, especially if they're at home. I suggest that you watch the credits, because they have a remarkable sound track of music from Africa.Because of the photography, this film will work best on the large screen. We saw it on DVD, because, realistically, that was the only way to see it. It still worked, but I wish I had seen it in a theater when it was released.However, large screen or small screen, The Constant Gardener is a winner. Seek it out and watch it!

This is a very good movie. The story, acting, direction everything were good.Firstly, the story. Its very good. It focuses on a probably not completely fictional drug trial in Africa. Its well written with a lot of character development for the key players with good amount of twists and turns.Secondly, the acting is spectacular. Ralph and Rachel were amazing. The supporting casts were very good. The Oscar Rachel won was deserving. Ralph didn't get the Oscar nomination but he was no less impressive than her.Finally, the directing was superb. The cinematography and editing made the story more intense.All in all, this is a very good movie which I will not forget very soon.

The Constant Gardener (2005): Dir: Fernando Meirelles / Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny Huston, Bill Nighy, Hubert Kounde: Extraordinary thriller set in Africa about finding information. In this case, Ralph Fiennes must learn why his wife and her black lover were murdered. Plot mostly visualized through flashbacks with Fiennes and Rachel Weisz meeting leading to her infidelity and pregnancy. Central plot regards Fiennes searching for answers as to why she was murdered and the dangers he heads towards as her work in Africa becomes too focused. Very sad outcome concludes a detailed screenplay with director Fernando Meirelles giving vent to the hardships in Africa. Fiennes does a fantastic job as his crushed emotions give way to the willingness to complete his wife's work. Weisz is well cast as his wife whose mission was a secret to Fiennes although he comes to appreciate what he truly missed about her. Supporting roles seem more standard than anything. Danny Huston plays the British high commissioner on the scene, and Bill Nighy plays the head of the foreign office. Hubert Kounde plays a doctor first suspected of the murder he is found murdered. One can assume that this doesn't end well but the film is beautifully shot with strong themes regarding hardships of other cultures and carrying on what others began while burying damaged memories. Score: 8 / 10

This honestly was a terrible movie I'm a big movie guy so I go to Salvation Army or Goodwill and buy movies buy the box load n what I like I keep and what I don't I return and this is definitely going back. It starts off with a teacher dating (n later marrying) one of his students and she's like a real big "left wing" liberal "save the people" type and they end up in Africa and she dies, but the story goes like backwards from before she dies and the whole time she's with this black African that I never could tell if she was "with", while she's married. I couldn't even sit and watch the whole movie the plot was Absolutely terrible, I shut it off half way through the only thing I give it is it's got the visual and audio techniques of a big budget film, but as far as the story goes; terrible. The cover of the DVD box way exaggerated the film. Save yourself the time.