Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Hubert Kounde, Danny Huston, Daniele Harford ...( see more  see more... ) , Packson Ngugi , Damaris Itenyo Agweyu , Bernard Otieno Oduor , Bill Nighy

When a British diplomat's wife -- a socially-conscious lawyer -- turns up dead in Kenya, he sets out to find the truth surrounding her murder. In the process, he finds out that his wife had been compi...( read more  read more... )ling data against a multinational drug company that uses helpless Africans as guinea pigs to test a tuberculosis remedy with unfortunately fatal side effects. Therefore, those who may have had the most reason to silence her are closer to home than he ever imagined.

Flixster Users

81% liked it

196,404 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

178 critics

R, 2 hr. 9 min.

Directed by: Fernando Meirelles

Release Date: August 31, 2005

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DVD Release Date: January 10, 2006

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Stats: 8,985 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (8,985)


  • February 5, 2010
    From John Le Carrie's novel, begins with grief and proceeds with sadness toward horror. It is confronting and horrific, cynical about politics and the power of pharmaceutical companies. This is one of the year's best films.
  • January 7, 2010
    ''I can't go home. Tessa was my home.''

    A widower is determined to get to the bottom of a potentially explosive secret involving his wife's murder, big business, and corporate corruption.

    Ralph Fiennes: Justin Quayle

    Rachel Weisz: Tessa Quayle

    Powerful,...( read more) emotional, political; The Constant Gardner is an adaptation of astounding resonance of John le Carre's novel and behind the film Jeffrey Caine's screenplay and City of God Director Fernando Meirelles.
    The story and journey of one man trying desperately to find an answer to the loss of his love; His wife. In truth, a nightmare and a love story that sadly entwines but you still feel through flashbacks, the resonance of something that can never be extinguished.


    The performances and acting from its two lead roles Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes simply are incredible and wondrous to witness.
    Ralph's performance and portrayal as Justin is top standards while Weisz as Tessa shines like she did in The Fountain and shows a performance worthy of the Oscar she plucked from her emotionally charged portrayal told sadly but effectively in past tense.
    The romantic portion of the film was immortalized by the two characters Justin and Tessa(Ralph & Rachel). Their first meeting was dynamically presented as Tessa; a social activist verbally toying with Justin as he makes a political speech. When the hall was cleared, however, it was Justin who was actually comforting Tessa after her outburst. The juxtaposition of the placid, passive Justin versus the fervent, hyper-kinetic Tessa was brilliantly established in this scene alone.

    The strands of thriller and social realism are inextricably tied together in the film. As a film noir detective piece; The Constant Gardener seeks to uncover what actually happened to Justin and Tessa on their African journey. At the same time, the main culprit that emerges is the heavy hand of greed as the pharmaceutical companies exploit helpless victims of tuberculosis for the purpose of testing and marketing an experimental drug. At one point in the film, it is disclosed to Justin that the pharmaceutical industry is no different than arms dealers.

    This film truly rewards its audience as it works on so many levels. Like Crash you won't be able to stop pondering over every thing you've just seen. The politics here are engaging and bound to stir up even the most complacent viewer. What's even more amazing is that all of the timely political discourse and subsequent thriller aspects of the film,courtesy of the source material, John Le Carre's novel, are wrapped up in an immortal romance. We the audience join Fiennes on his journey across Africa, and we rediscover the love story between he and his wife that ties the film in a poetic realism usually reserved for movies with much less on their minds.

    To top it off, it's all delivered in the maddeningly genius Meirelles style that took critics and audiences by storm in his debut masterpiece City of God. We have the shaky hand-held camera darting through vibrant and colorful third-world locales juxtaposed with jaw-droppingly gorgeous aerial photography of Africa in all its glory. Meirelles again shows us he is a true artist and visionary willing to show both the shocking beauty and abject horror of the people and places that populate his films. Again he delivers a message that people are doing horrible things to each other, everywhere.

    With City of God he seemed to be saying the only hope is to document and record it. The Constant Gardener makes that argument again and takes it one brilliant step forward. We may not be able to stop a war or a huge global injustice, but we do have the power to help one person at a time. It takes a courageous film to make such a statement, and a brilliant film-maker to deliver it, and that's just what The Constant Gardener achieves.

    Fine performances that reside in Constant Gardner not only come from it's two leads but come from Bill Nighy who manages not to be funny, Danny Houston who's in loads of good films recently, and Hubert Kounde who proves it's the quiet ones you got to watch.

    The Constant Gardner often hurts to watch, performances yes it's five stars, but I think it's a movie that has so many levels of expressing the tragedy and materialism of human beings. The rarity being those two people; Firstly Tessa then later as he reveals the truth Justin standing against corruption. The catalyst being greed and the ultimate cure and salvation being love.
    Losing a loved one is a very hard thing for anyone and to watch another man go through that pain, hurts beyond mere words.
    The hopelessness, the injustice and that sometimes your enemy, the ones you were fighting are right back at home. In this regard The Constant Gardener is significantly masterful in it's wisdom and the message hits home with a bitter aftertaste and an emotional assault on our feeling and our fears.
  • December 13, 2009
    I expected to be turned off by this but was surprised to find it was one of the best movies of 2005. It is an emotional thriller spanning continents and genres, propelled by great performances and a unique score.
  • December 9, 2009
    I think there are not enough Movie out there with Ralph Fiennes. He has a magical influence on me, when I watch his movie. This Movie was truly a joy.
  • October 26, 2009
    really slow, really uneventful and really awful. maybe the book was the bomb... but this is not! ralph fiennes is mostly if not always dull... i feel a twinge back to the self loathing days of grunge. poor me for happening to have watched it. i feel sorry for myself.
  • January 31, 2010
    A very tragic movie... so much reality..
    esp. appreciated the lines in almost the end;
    "There are no murders in Africa. Only regrettable deaths. And from those deaths we derive the benefits of civilization. Benefits we can afford so easily, Because those lives were bought so c...( read more)heaply."
  • January 26, 2010
    An important film that deserves to be remembered.
  • January 22, 2010
    This a wonderful and powerful film. Both Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz give magnificent performances.
  • January 11, 2010
    What a powerful and gripping film that Fernando Meirelles was able to build, intelligent, compelling, dramatically intense, presenting an important subject and also fantastic performances.
  • January 3, 2010
    Their relationship started with sex. Then they marry, and begin to learn about each other. They were complete opposites: She is almost out of control, and he is almost too in control. They look at each other and see what?s missing in their own nature. These were two people meant ...( read more)to be together. Then she dies. What ensues is a journey of discovery for Justin (Fiennes), who discovers a woman he never really knew. It?s a deeply pragmatic kind of romanticism.

    The Constant Gardener is an earnest political thriller, a film about evil and greed. It?s a love story only in passing. And yet the love story is what lingers in the mind. It gives meaning to everything that Justin goes through in the film. We see just how far he will go to set things right. His wife Tessa?s (Weisz) obsession becomes Justin?s obsession. He married his conscience and wants to better understand his wife in a way he never did when she was alive.

    The lead actors are beautifully in tune with each other. Their chemistry was expressive and alive. I like how Weisz draws out something in Fiennes that?s so affecting and sensual. I?ve never been more moved by Fiennes? performance. I love their physical closeness, their delight in her pregnancy, the evening bath with the door left ajar. I?m sure that had she lived, they would?ve had a lasting marriage and fulfilling life together. She?s his tragedy, his salvation and his perfect partner.

    For a long time, I was puzzled by the title. I knew the movie had political themes, but The Constant Gardener sounds like a horticultural romance. Of course, after watching the movie, I realize that the ?constant gardener? of the title is most obviously Justin. However, it?s Tessa who does the more constant tending. She opens his eyes and moves him to action. I love British films. Unlike Hollywood, the Brits have always known that life sucks. I like films that show that life sucks.

    The other kind of attention that this film brings is the situation in Africa. As Arthur Hammond says, ?No, there are no murders in Africa. Only regrettable deaths. And from those deaths we derive the benefits of civilization, benefits we can afford so easily? because those lives were bought so cheaply. On another note, as much as I like Rachel Weisz, and as much as I like this film, I believe that she did not deserve the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress that year. That role could?ve been given to anybody, whereas I believe no one comes close to Amy Adams? performance in Junebug.

Critic Reviews


August 31, 2005
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Meirelles clearly trusts his actors, particularly Fiennes and Weisz: The plot of The Constant Gardener is fairly intricate, but in the end, the story is told mostly in their faces. full review

August 31, 2005
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Smart, well-crafted and satisfying. full review

August 31, 2005
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Fernando Meirelles's excellent adaptation of the novel by John le Carré is likely to linger in your mind and may even trouble your conscience. full review

August 31, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

This is one of the year's best films. full review

August 30, 2005
Nick Schager, Filmcritic.com

Unbalanced... disingenuous... cares no more about Africa than do the story's evil villains at a make-believe drug company. full review

August 30, 2005
David Edelstein, Slate

It might inspire you to haul out those garden spades and get digging. full review

August 30, 2005
Marcy Dermansky, About.com

A gripping thriller, an unbelievably romantic love story, and a biting political take-down of pharmaceutical corporations that have Godlike power over life and death. full review

August 29, 2005
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

The fact that none of the above is satisfactorily answered, and that we nevertheless emerge from the movie feeling nourished and stirred, is a tribute to Meirelles and, of course, to le Carré. full review

August 11, 2005
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Prepare for a thrilling ride. full review

View more The Constant Gardener reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • reverendbizarre
    October 30, 2008
    What's with the font? lol
  • karthu1993
    October 18, 2008
    Rchel had to receive the oscar nomination for the best actress in lead role not supporting.
    She is not just the heroine but the main theme of the movie.
  • karthu1993
    September 26, 2008
    Rachel weisz was superb. movie overall was good. ending was dissappointing though
  • zlon
    April 10, 2008
    AS in my comment, it is even better to read the book . The film covers just 30-40 pages out of ca 350 pages.
  • aprilneo
    March 5, 2007
    I liked the political aspect. You could substitute the TB remedy for an AIDS drug. I would not doubt in the slightest this goes on in the poorer countries every day. Good movie.
  • Prelude
    January 24, 2007
    Definitely headed up by some left wing idealist. Pretty good anyway.
  • bhaviez
    September 23, 2006
    totally subtle yet very effective.

    a slow.. not too suspenseful movie about a topic that would normally be sensationalised in a Hollywood Blockbuster.. but this movie creates drama through gorgeous cinematography, well utilised flashbacks and a lack of histrionics.

    well worth seeing on a night when you feel like something a bit serious and not light-hearted entertainment.

    the slightly unusual ending particularly captivated me.
  • Eastersausage
    May 16, 2006
    Greatest Movie of all TIME!!

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The Constant Gardener Trivia


  • This movie stars Ralph Fiennes and was directed by the same man who gave us the brazilian masterpiece City of God.  Answer »
  • complete the title of the movie with Ralph Fiennes "The ________ Gardener"  Answer »
  • Fernando Meirelles the director of CITY OF GOD, Which of these movies did he also direct?  Answer »
  • who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the Constant Gardener?  Answer »

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