Summary:

In a remote area of Northern Kenya, activist Tessa Quayle (Rachel Weisz) is found brutally murdered. Tessa's companion, a doctor, appears to have fled the scene, and the evidence points to a crime of passion. Members of the British High Commission in Nairobi assume that Tessa's widower, their mild-mannered and unambitious colleague Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), will leave the matter to them. They could not be more wrong.

Steve says:

Based on the John LeCarré book, THE CONSTANT GARDENER unfolds with the speed and pace of a novel...and that’s not a good thing. The film is billed as a “thinking man’s thriller,” and while it features plotting as dense as Tammy Fay’s mascara, it seems to weigh down the story. My idea of a thinking man’s thriller is Costa-Gavras’ 1969 political suspense film, Z, a movie that is still riveting more than three decades after it was made. Alas, THE CONSTANT GARDENER has none of the heart-pounding pace or intensity of the former. It unfolds at a much-too leisurely pace and, while I kept waiting to be swept into it, it just never happened.

The plot hinges on the cover-up of the unsuccessful trials of a tuberculosis vaccine involving African natives, but it takes forever to get there. The first half of the film is played in flashback, wherein we see Tessa and Justin meet and fall in love. Their love is so pure and true and we never quite fall for the red herrings that later suggest that Tessa was unfaithful.  I must admit that, while I love spy stories and thrillers, I have never found LeCarré to quite be my cup of Earl Grey. 

In fairness, the acting is first rate as you would expect from anything that Ralph Fiennes is in. But his character is such a milquetoast that I never found myself rooting for him, even when he eventually finds his resolve.

Rachel Weisz’s Tessa is a much more interesting character. From our first encounter with her, we see her as a passionate and dedicated reformer who sets out to right the worlds’ wrongs, all by herself. Weisz is wonderful in the role and very easy on the eyes as well. In fact, as she ages, she has begun to look more and more like Brooke Shields.

Danny Huston plays Justin’s partner and I thought he portrayed a Brit amazingly well. Having seen him in John Sayles’ SILVER CITY, I have been singularly unimpressed with his work as an actor but he did manage to surprise me this time.

What is displayed most realistically is the stark, heart-breaking poverty of large pockets of Africa, where the residents barely eke out an existence in mud huts or squalid cities comprised of tin-roofed shacks.

I admit that I have become accustomed to the “Hollywoodization” of thrillers such as the James Bond series or Matt Damon’s BOURNE movies. There is one car chase in THE CONSTANT GARDENER but it doesn’t live up to what we’ve come to expect and it ultimately goes nowhere.

Before we went to the film, my son Chris asked what THE CONSTANT GARDENER was about. Yanking his chain a little, I answered, “We’ll get to see a guy working in his garden for two hours.” In retrospect, I think that might have made for a more thrilling movie.

Sadly, THE CONSTANT GARDENER only rates three kernels from me.

 

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Patty says:

Admittedly, THE CONSTANT GARDNER is a bit slow to bloom.  The story is woven with a hint of mystery, some intrigue and the ripening of a love affair between two very different people.  The social commentary isn’t as biting as the unabashed brutality of the cultural genocide in HOTEL RWANDA.  In THE CONSTANT GARDNER, we know that evil lurks, but we’re not really sure who the bad guys are and what they are up to until the plot unfolds...ever so slowly. If you are like Steve and need things to move along, you’ll find that the gut of this story could use a bran muffin. 

The cinematography is stunning.  The mood set by the camera is a perfect balance of art and visual story telling.  For this reason, I really enjoyed THE CONSTANT GARDNER.  The visuals kept me hooked in when the story became cumbersome.  I found myself disinterested in the action and absolutely mesmerized by the presentation.  That only worked for the first hour, however.  Then I found myself drifting into deep thoughts.  Thoughts like….I wonder if all those necklaces that traditionally dressed Kenyan women wear are heavy?  If all those little babies go running around naked, I wonder how you keep them from pooping on the floor in the living room.  About then, it became blindingly clear that THE CONSTANT GARDNER was no longer holding my attention.

There was no shortage of acting talent in the film.  The lovely Rachel Weisz is one to keep your eye on (not that this is tough duty).  She lights up the screen with her vivacious performance.  I suppose that one can say that Ralph Fiennes delivered the monochromatic performance that his character required. Still, I found myself wondering what a spitfire of a woman like Tessa Quayle would find interesting about a man like her husband.  The significance of the title of the film isn’t lost on me, but having known a few spitfires in my life, it’s like imagining the coupling of Carman Electra and Al Gore.  I just don’t buy it.

I’d like to give THE CONSTANT GARDNER more than three kernels, but only because I want to look more intellectual than Steve.  But….nobody would buy it.

 

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September 6, 2005