The Constant Gardener (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
A man discovers a deadly secret when he tries to discover who killed his wife in 'The Constant Gardener' (based on a novel by John Le Carre & directed by Fernando Meirelles, City of God). Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) is a low-level British diplomat on assignment in Kenya. His bright-eyed wife, Tessa (Rachel Weisz), is a charismatic & aggressive activist with an interest in issues of social injustice & poverty. Justin, a mild-mannered man content to do his job & tend to his garden, urges Tessa not to get too involved with Kenyan people. He tries to convince her that they have their own set of unique problems ... but she shows little interest in obeying him. This isn't the only time that Tessa has disregarded Justin, who suspects that she may be having an affair with a doctor colleague.
But one day, after leaving town on a seemingly routine trip, Tessa's jeep is run off the road, & she is brutally murdered on a lonely stretch of barren countryside. Officials believe that she was raped/killed by said doctor. However, it is soon discovered that he was killed, too. Despite the pleas of his dubious lawyer, Sandy (Danny Huston), whose own personal attachment to Tessa may have been more than friendly, Justin is not content to write the death off as just some random tragedy. Before long, Justin becomes convinced that there was a conspiracy involving a drug named Dypraxa that led to his wife's untimely death. Hell bent, he begins digging deep into areas & people (Bill Nighy, Pete Postlethwaite) where he's not especially knowledgeable or welcome. Low pulse-rate suspense ensues.
'The Constant Gardner' is one of those well-crafted, well-acted, deliberately-plotted "important" films that looks like a winner on paper, but didn't quite feel like one to me after it concluded. Billed as a political thriller, it didn't really make me teeter forward on the edge of my seat. And my engagement in the plot went in & out. Now, the film starts very strong. I enjoyed trying to piece together the puzzle (quick edits & flashback sequences are provided to give us more info on Tessa, her work, her marriage to Justin, the lies that surface, as well as the drug conspiracy). The story is a slowwww burn (eeking out suspense as it goes). But then the film ... ends. And I did not feel that much of what I had witnessed before the conclusion warranted much interest. Furthermore, the end result is one big downer. Grim, even. I felt like much of my time/interest had been devoted to a story that didn't even have a satisfactory pay-off.
Though I wanted more background on the character of Justin, Ralph Fiennes brings melancholy & soulful gaze to the gardener-loving bureaucrat. Over time, his Justin starts to think for himself & is able to give the character a different feel from the revenge hero that we typically see in films of this ilk. And Rachel Weisz excels as the passionate, if difficult-to-like Tessa. It's a real raw performance -- and you know it's a good one when you're eagerly anticipating the next scene/flashback that she's in. From their strange meet-cute to them trying to choose a name for their unborn baby, Fiennes & Weisz show an honest chemistry. That said, due to the nature of the script, or the cold/clinical execution of the direction, I wasn't heartbroken for them.
But one day, after leaving town on a seemingly routine trip, Tessa's jeep is run off the road, & she is brutally murdered on a lonely stretch of barren countryside. Officials believe that she was raped/killed by said doctor. However, it is soon discovered that he was killed, too. Despite the pleas of his dubious lawyer, Sandy (Danny Huston), whose own personal attachment to Tessa may have been more than friendly, Justin is not content to write the death off as just some random tragedy. Before long, Justin becomes convinced that there was a conspiracy involving a drug named Dypraxa that led to his wife's untimely death. Hell bent, he begins digging deep into areas & people (Bill Nighy, Pete Postlethwaite) where he's not especially knowledgeable or welcome. Low pulse-rate suspense ensues.
'The Constant Gardner' is one of those well-crafted, well-acted, deliberately-plotted "important" films that looks like a winner on paper, but didn't quite feel like one to me after it concluded. Billed as a political thriller, it didn't really make me teeter forward on the edge of my seat. And my engagement in the plot went in & out. Now, the film starts very strong. I enjoyed trying to piece together the puzzle (quick edits & flashback sequences are provided to give us more info on Tessa, her work, her marriage to Justin, the lies that surface, as well as the drug conspiracy). The story is a slowwww burn (eeking out suspense as it goes). But then the film ... ends. And I did not feel that much of what I had witnessed before the conclusion warranted much interest. Furthermore, the end result is one big downer. Grim, even. I felt like much of my time/interest had been devoted to a story that didn't even have a satisfactory pay-off.
Though I wanted more background on the character of Justin, Ralph Fiennes brings melancholy & soulful gaze to the gardener-loving bureaucrat. Over time, his Justin starts to think for himself & is able to give the character a different feel from the revenge hero that we typically see in films of this ilk. And Rachel Weisz excels as the passionate, if difficult-to-like Tessa. It's a real raw performance -- and you know it's a good one when you're eagerly anticipating the next scene/flashback that she's in. From their strange meet-cute to them trying to choose a name for their unborn baby, Fiennes & Weisz show an honest chemistry. That said, due to the nature of the script, or the cold/clinical execution of the direction, I wasn't heartbroken for them.