The Constant Gardner opens with the slightly flora-obsessed Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) tending to one of his office plants. He is a diplomat in the British High Commission in Nairobi, and his friend and colleague Sandy Woodrow (Danny Huston - Birth) enters the room to tell him that his young wife Tessa (Rachel Weisz - Constantine) has been found brutally murdered in Northern Kenya.
As Quayle travels to identify the body, we flash back to learn how these two polar opposites (he a timid government bureaucrat, she a committed political activist) met and fell in love. Quayle, who has never ruffled a single feather in his life, then takes upon himself the risky endeavour of investigating what really happened to Tessa, an act which alienates himself from his colleagues and comes of great concern to some serious powerbrokers, specifically a large pharmaceutical company. This puts Quayle's life in danger, but sets him down a path to a greater truth. As Quayle learns more about his wife's activities, we learn more about their relationship.
The Constant Gardener is a remarkably affecting, artfully relevant thriller with a more convincing portrait of a realistic romance than most films ostensibly about love.
It succeeds on multiple levels - as a gripping conspiracy thriller; an urgent commentary on power in the modern world; a biting political indictment and as a potent love story.
The Constant Gardener shows how much more powerful a thriller can be when it has something vital to say about the world around us, and how much more affecting such films are when a director applies a personal, artistic touch to its execution. It renders so many other thrillers as the trivial escapades that they are.
Brazilian Director Fernando Meirelles brings the shaky camera urgency of his earlier hit City of God to this film, and also utilises a similar brightly coloured palette drenched in vibrant oranges and yellows. Also, like City of God, the extensive (often breath-taking) location shooting in The Constant Gardener immerses you fully in the world portrayed in the film.
Meirelles apparently replaced British filmmaker Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral; Donnie Brasco) at the last minute when the latter bailed to helm the latest Harry Potter movie. While Newell is a talented filmmaker, one cannot help but suspect a more straightforward adaptation would've resulted if he'd stayed on the project. With Meirelles at the helm, The Constant Gardener feels vibrant, alive and exciting.
The stellar cast must also be credited. Fiennes gives his most vital performance in years, subtly convincing as a man whose slowly awakening conscience takes him to new places both literal and figurative. He is good at projecting that even though he is uncovering considerable corruption, his journey never stops being about his love for Tessa. Danny Huston (son of directing legend John) puts in another fantastic, layered supporting performance, after similarly impressive roles in the Nicole Kidman flop Birth and The Aviator. Someone give this guy a lead already.
Weisz is suitably impassioned, and reliable character stalwarts Bill Nighy (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) and Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of The Father) liven up the edges of the movie.
As Alan J. Pakula's often overlooked 1974 conspiracy thriller The Parallax View so ably demonstrated, a non-romanticised portrayal of global power games can provoke a forceful sense of dread. The villains of The Constant Gardener aren't cackling super villains, but complacent bureaucrats, all too willing to keep the big machine wheels rolling. This film is about the evils of the drug companies, but these forces are never personified, remaining the faceless malevolent power they are in the real world. It's chilling, but makes for gripping cinema.
The Constant Gardener is no less of a "ride" than some of the higher end Hollywood thrillers, but it is far better constructed and makes for a much richer experience. It's a welcome reminder that artful movies with a conscience can be just as entertaining as an ostensibly "broader" blockbuster.
Highly recommended.
Dominic Corry
The Constant Gardener opens nationwide on November 17th.
