2005 Directed by Fernando Meirelles
Justin Quayle is a low-level British diplomat who has always gone about his work very quietly, not causing any problems. But after his radical wife Tessa is killed he becomes determined to find out why, thrusting himself into the middle of a very dangerous conspiracy.
Ralph Fiennes Rachel Weisz Danny Huston Bill Nighy Donald Sumpter Pete Postlethwaite Richard McCabe Hubert Koundé Daniele Harford Bernard Otieno Oduor Damaris Itenyo Agweyu Keith Pearson John Sibi-Okumu Archie Panjabi Gerard McSorley Juliet Aubrey Jacqueline Maribe Donald Apiyo Anneke Kim Sarnau Rupert Simonian
Simon Channing Williams Henning Molfenter Thierry Potok Tracey Seaward Jeff Abberley Julia Blackman Gail Egan Robert Jones Donald Ranvaud Jim Shamoon Mario Zvan
Scion Films Studio Babelsberg Epsilon Motion Pictures UK Film Council Focus Features Blue Sky Films Potboiler Productions
Rachel Weisz makes an even better couple with Voldemort than she did with Wolverine in ‘The Fountain’ and that’s saying something! No seriously, I love Weisz and she is again amazing in this, as is her partner. Both ensure their character with life and complexity to an extent that you rarely see in films of an all in all moderate length. ‘The Constant Gardener’ is as much of a study of these personas as it is a mystery slash thriller, but the story surely doesn’t suffer from the time and effort that is put into the development of these people. On the contrary, the plot is multifaceted, exciting and surprising. Most importantly, whereas many other similar sort of movies get trapped in plot holes, I was unable to identify one mistake or ambiguity in ‘The Constant Gardener’, it seems perfectly coherent and realistic too.
#4 of 12 films in my Adapted Screenplay Challenge (2)
Going into this 477-page novel, I had never read a book by John Le Carré before. In fact, I've read very few spy novels or political thrillers, and I really have no context of comparison for this work.
The story opens at the British High Commission in Nairobi. Sandy Woodrow, Head of Chancery, has just received news of the death of a compatriot, an aid worker named Tessa, near Lake Turkana and the Richard Leaky archaeological site. All evidence seems to indicate murder, and Woodrow has the unenviable task of checking the details and breaking the news to her husband, Justin Quayle, First Secretary in the Chancery, as well as…
The Constant Gardener is a master work of suspense brought on by ways of love and deceit.
A political thriller that kept me guessing where it was headed through all the lies and just how cool headed Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) would react to the truths of his wife Tessa (Rachel Weisz) and her life and work even when his suspicions were on the highest of levels.
Politics are the evil that rules the world and it is showcased in this brilliant film.
Highly recommended.
There were a lot of things in this movie that should have worked on paper, but just didn't succeed when packaged together. The story itself is good, but it's framed all wrong. There was really no point in telling it from Ralph Fiennes' character's point of view, so the entire plot with Rachel Weisz just seems almost extraneous.
The fact that Rachel Weisz beat both Amy Lou Adams and Michelle Williams for this performance is truly.....remarkable considering she didn't do much!
Underlying the hidden surfaces where danger flows, Tessa an outspoken humanitarian and Amnesty activist is brutally murdered with her colleague Dr. Arnold Bluhm. The mystery is significant part of her work from her husband Justin who is a diplomat stationed in Kenya. After her death and rumors of Tessa having an affair surface, Justin starts to investigate what really got Tessa killed, what was she working on and who was he to her in all this.
Directed by Fernando Meirelles, the story unfolds in the past when Tessa met Justin and how they fell in love and married. Tessa has kept her job independent from Justin. Tessa is outspoken, confronting people in important positions while keeping an important secret for…
The Constant Gardener Review
"Do you no good to go poking around under rocks, Justin. Some very nasty things live under rocks, especially in foreign gardens." - Sir Bernard Pellegrin
The Constant Gardener takes it's name from the book it adapts and the fact that the main character is in the sense a "constant" gardener even though we only see him water plants and buy seeds. This film tries to mask itself as an intense revenger's tragedy with a spy thriller all throughout Kenya as a conspiracy about the lethal testing of drugs is tested on Africans. In reality if you focus on it, it's really just a melodramatic love story about a man who's trying to finish what his…
i only watched half of this and that was seriously a job. rachel weisz i love you and i support you and i hope your back doesn’t hurt too much from carrying this on it!
Great perromances and an engaging plot. It is interesting to see director Mereilles addressing a story and a context so different from City if God, yet so connected in different ways
Starting up a new website where I write in-depth reviews on the films that I see. If I watch multiple films in a day, I choose only one to review (for time purposes). This was the film I wrote about today.
timothykandra.wordpress.com/2018/12/04/the-constant-gardener/#more-117
An unfaithful film adaptation that lacks the depth of the novel and creates flat characters that are peripheral to the plot. Highly disappointed despite Ralph Fiennes great performance.
Ciudad de Dios no fue fue casualidad.
Me gusta la agenda de Fernando Meirelles.
Ahora le imprime su estilo a una historia de conciencia global.
Es un filme muy bien retratado, todos los encuadres son perfectos, es como si no hubiese tomas de apoyo.
Las actuaciones están en su punto.
La primera parte le pertenece a Rachel Weisz (Tessa), una activista que parece tener agenda por encima de su matrimonio, y llegas a pensar que Ralph Fiennes será desaprovechado, pero cuando su personaje salta a cuadro, el equilibrio regresa.
Al final me hizo sentir sumamente vacío e inútil, como Tessa. Definitivamente necesitamos más Tessa's.
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