The Constant Gardener

A sweaty, vital masterpiece that's always one step ahead of its audience.

Essentially two movies for the price of one. But those halves add up to more than most movies right now.

Substantive and imaginatively filmed but is not an off-putting art movie; rather, it's the kind of solid but accessible filmmaking that prevailed in Hollywood's golden age.

Weisz has never been better: She's joyously expressive and alive, but there's gravity beneath that milkmaid complexion. She's grounded even when she's being flirtatious. And Fiennes has never been more moving.

Succeeds in capturing the book's essential themes and concerns, albeit in a hectic style that could not be more antithetical to that of the literary master of international intrigue.

Rather than trading le Carré's downbeat but agonizingly true-to-life ending for something more palatable, Meirelles has crafted a rare sort of thriller that refuses to resolve real-life issues for the sake of feel-good entertainment.

In the end, The Constant Gardener is hardly more than yet another study of white, upper-middle-class martyrdom rather than the hard look at third-world suffering it might've been.

The great political thriller of 2005. Rachel Wiesz is fantastic in her Oscar winning performance, she is excellent here. Great script and good editing. Well-done drama, one of the best of 2005. Nominated for 4 Academy Awards, The Constant Gardener is a must see.

When I watched this movie I already had some expectations because I had read good reviews and I knew that it had a strong cast. The story also seemed to be very interesting: a British diplomat trying to discover his wife's murderers discovers a corrupt plot between the British government and the pharmaceutical industry, working in Kenya. Needless to say, I think, I was very pleased with the movie. The plot's main subject is strong, moving and human. Actor's work is very competent. The two central characters are affectionate, romantic and passionate, especially Tessa, who defends her ideas with great conviction. This helps a lot to make them dear to the audience, holding our attention until the end. How much of this is pure fiction is something I kept thinking about later. We know that the pharmaceutical industry generates millions, and this causes me (at least to me) some distrust. Has it ever happened, in recent past, something like what happens in this movie? Is it happening now and we don't know? Even if its not, its always a good reason to think on how some countries and regions are exploited. Going back to the film itself, I liked the way it visually explores African landscapes, with cinematography toasting us with scenes of a very beautiful light and color. The work of Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles (in my opinion, the best Brazilian film director today) is very competent and gives the film a soft aroma of documentary that tastes good, even though its no more than an illusion. Errors or problems? I didn't feel many, but I think it would improve if it had been kept for longer the mystery surrounding the conspiracy. The public soon realizes what's going on and the real reasons behind Tessa's death, and that takes away the interest and logic of her husband's demand.

I didn’t care much for this film in alll honesty I don’t like Rachel weisz she is probably one of the worst British actresses living today I can’t understand how she won an Oscar for this otherwise average film I can’t understand how see if others like and consider it good that’s fine but admit it’s not the best movie and that there are far better films and Rachel weisz is not meryl Streep nor Julia Roberts or Glenn close she’s a mediocre actress who doesn’t lead any influence or impact on us cinephiles. The thing that is worthy of this film is Ralph fiennes I really like that actor and he is the best thing about it I they really had To nominate this film for an acting Oscar why not just give it to Ralph Fiennes he is way better than Rachel weisz I love English patient and it’s thankful he made an Oscar comeback with the drama conclave he is a great actor he deserved a better female co star than rachel weisz sure this may be one of her best performances but I still will never consider her a high quality actress she is C- tier talent. This movie is a 5 for me

For what is supposed to be a suspenseful mysterious type movie, it was anything but captivating. The directing style and the script made the entire movie seem like a boring blur. Rachel Weiz did quite an excellent job when she was on screen, but nothing about this movie would make me ever want to see it again.