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the constant gardener
I’ve never read the novels of John Le Carre. I enjoy a good spy novel every now and then; thrillers and mysteries are some of my guiltiest pleasures. But the last few years have been good to the author; two film adaptations of his novels — The Tailor of Panama and The Constant Gardener — have been so terrific that I’m convinced I should spend a little time with the source material. Of the two, however, The Constant Gardener is the one I’ve found it harder to shake off. Even if the movie’s real story — a moving tale of a widower haunted by the memory of a woman he only now is beginning to understand — was a glowing ball of cheese, the backdrop of corporate and political corruption is so effectively portrayed that the movie sticks with you for days. Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz star as Justin and Tessa Quayle, an unremarkable low-level British diplomat and his activist wife. The movie opens in Kenya, where the Quayles live; Justin says goodbye to Tessa and her friend, a doctor, as they catch a plane. It will not spoil the movie to tell you that in the next scene, Justin learns that Tessa has been killed driving home. Her Jeep is found in dangerous territory, overturned; he visits the morgue to identify her body, laid out on a steel slab. The story, from this point forward, is spliced together with a series of flashbacks. Justin is obsessed with rumors and evidence that Tessa may have been unfaithful to him during the course of their marriage, and must know the truth in order to make peace with Tessa’s death. He questions her friends, searches her things, and as he plays private eye, he uncovers a larger story: Tessa and her doctor friend, Arnold Bluhm, were looking for answers themselves. They suspected a pharmaeceutical giant of using poor African citizens as test subjects for as-yet-unapproved medicines; worse, they had uncovered proof that these drugs were killing innocent people. This movie could not exist without the mysteries of political and corporate malfeasance, but its heart lies in Justin’s search for the truth about Tessa. They met and fell in love quickly, and in Africa, where Tessa’s work kept her busy at all (and odd) hours, their relationship began to come apart. Justin’s discovery of cryptic emails, and his observance of his wife’s friendliness with other men, raised questions about their marriage. The way that Justin finally begins to learn who Tessa was — through the clues and fragments of life she’s left behind — humanize the story. Peel away the more thrilling aspects of the movie and what you’re left with is a love story, one that is haunting and even beautiful, if in a tragic way. The casting is inspired. I’ve never liked Fiennes much, but he’s excellent here, playing Justin as gentle and unassuming, which makes the risks his character takes over the course of the movie that much more urgent and meaningful. Weisz exists purely in flashbacks, and she’s difficult to define; had the story evolved to the right rather than to the left, her character’s behaviors would not have felt out-of-place. Gerard McSorley and Bill Nighy have small but effective roles here. Actually, most of the secondary casting is dead-on. The only actor who feels out of his depth is Danny Huston, who plays Sandy Woodrow, Justin’s secretive colleague. Fernando Meirelles is right at home directing this movie. His previous film, City of God, took place in the slums of Rio de Janeiro; the crowded shacks of Kenya feel like familiar territory for him. What makes the movie truly glow, however, is the cinematography and the spectacular score. The movie was shot by Cesar Charlone, who employs many of the techniques he used on Meirelles’ City of God; handheld cameras lend the movie a documentary feel and enhance the film’s realism, and his use of color is simply breathtaking. The score, by Alberto Iglesias, is no less evocative; it lacks a central theme, but doesn’t suffer for it. Ayub Ogada’s almost mournful “Kothbiro” plays over several key moments of the film; the soundtrack is worth purchasing for it alone. I genuinely loved this movie. I’ve seen it several times since catching it in the theatres. Like I said, it kind of sticks with you.
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June 8th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
you made me want to see it now! thanks for the review. it’ll be my next home rent for a movie night alone with my cat :P