The Constant Gardener

I’m totally not into gardening, so to make a movie about a guy who gardens constantly doesn’t really sound all that appealing in my books. Craig was uber-keen to see it though (maybe he’s a green thumb), so I let him drag me along.

Suffice to say, I knew little about this film going into it, other than it’s based on a book by the same dude that wrote “The Tailor of Panama” (which I haven’t read, but saw the film and wasn’t so impressed). Fabia had seen the film earlier this week and gave it rave reviews, but I figured that was mainly because the director is Brazillian – like her.

But as it turns out, Fabs was right – the film is excellent, and as a bonus it doesn’t feature too much gardening content. In fact, there’s barely any gardening! The film relates to pharmaceutical companies creating drugs and using Africa as their test bed. Enter the main characters – Tessa (played by Rachel Weisz), an activist fighting for better medical conditions in Africa, and her husband Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) – a member of the British High Commission. For the most part, Quayle knew little about his wife’s work, but after she is found brutally murdered, he takes it upon himself to discover why, and by whom. Of course, this unravels a whole world of intrigue, back-stabbing, and conspiracies as he fights to continue the work of this wife, and expose the pharmaceutical companies and their dirty works.

Though at times it took a lot of concentrating to keep track of the characters, it was all well worth it. Both the acting and the directing are superb – the whole film was incredibly well cast. I’d recommend this film to anyone – especially if you’re into mysteries (DD: I think you’d love it). gerrod.com rating: 9/10.