The Constant Gardener Movie Review 2005

Multi-faceted, multi-layered tale hits all the buttons of a great thriller: sex, love, murder, intrigue, exotic (if underprivileged) locale, and international politics, all mixed with a topical bent ripped from today's headlines. Justin (Fiennes) and Tessa (Weisz) plunge headfirst from passion into marriage, hardly knowing a thing about each other. He's an official in the British government; she's an activist; together they end up in Kenya where she witnesses foul play by drug companies who use the locals as guinea pigs for drug testing. The film starts with Tessa's brutal murder, and we follow along with Justin as he uncovers the mysteries of her life and death. Adapted from the 2001 novel by John le Carre.

Distribution

Universal Studios Home Video, 100 Universal City Plz., Universal City, CA 91608-9955, Phone: (818)777-1000, Fax: (818)866-1483, URL: http://www.universalstudios.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on DVD
Running time 129 minutes.
Originally from British.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Romantic Drama, Africa, Mystery & Suspense, Books to Film: John Le Carre, Flashback, AIDS, Great Britain, It's a Conspiracy, Man!

Screenplay

Jeffrey Caine

Cast

Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny Huston, Bill Nighy, Pete Postlethwaite, Richard McCabe, Donald (Don) Sumpter, Juliet Aubrey, Hubert Kounde, Archie Panjabi, Gerard McSorley

Cinematography

Cesar Charlone

Director

Fernando Meirelles

Music

Alberto Iglesias

Other

Stuart Wilson, Claire Simpson, Denis Schnegg, Odile Dicks-Mireaux, Mark Tildesley

Producer

Simon Channing-Williams, Potboiler Production, Focus Features

Awards

Oscars 2005: Support. Actress (Weisz); British Acad. 2005: Film Editing; Golden Globes 2006: Support. Actress (Weisz); Screen Actors Guild 2005: Support. Actress (Weisz).