By Vince Palomarez | Images property of Focus Features
The Constant Gardener
The conspiracy thriller with a message…..I detest these types of films for one simple reason; no one can ever get them right. Most of the time the writer or director goes into these films intending to get their message across, which they usually do, but by focusing so much effort into making audiences aware of the "message", they often lose sight of the emotional attachment involved and the movie comes off as cold and unemotional. A recent example of this would be the film The Interpreter. Director Sydney Pollack did his best to convey his message of political corruption in Africa, but by doing so, he lost sight of the emotional factor that is so key to a film. Sure it happens in many other films, but for some reason I see it happen too much in these types of films.
The Constant Gardener Movie Review
So when I discovered that Brazilian director Fernando
Meirelles follow up to the amazing City of God would be a conspiracy
thriller, based on a best selling novel, centered on the deaths of innocent
people by pharmaceutical testing in Africa; I was very disappointed. Here
was a director who created one of the most visually stunning films of the
past few years and he was going to waste his talents on this. Due to his
Oscar nomination for City of God he was basically given the golden
ticket to do whatever he wants and he decides to do a genre that so many
others before had failed at. Suffice to say I wasn't the objective reviewer
I usually am when I stepped in the theater to see The Constant Gardener.
Although sometimes it can actually be a good thing to go in to a film with
such a negative opinion because when you're proved wrong (which I was) it
only makes you appreciate the film more.
The Constant Gardener has separated itself from the rest of the
pack and is the first "conspiracy thriller with a meaning" in a long time
to actually get it. Throughout the entire two hours the film manages to
get its message across while never losing sight of the emotional element
needed to keep it interesting. Instead of creating a cold static mystery
Meirelles is able to make us really care about Justin Quayle's (Ralph Fiennes)
journey from introverted diplomat to determined moral activist while trying
to find out information on the death of his activist wife Tessa (Rachel
Weisz). Justin's love for his wife and his determination to see her effort
finished is never overshadowed by the message Meirelles is trying to get
across through the film. And while a lot of the credit goes to the director
you also have to give credit to Ralph Fiennes portrayal of Justin.
The Constant Gardener
The Constant Gardener is definitely a
welcome back for Mr. Fiennes who disappeared into the crowd the past few
years. Over the course of the film as we watch Mr. Fiennes transformation
from introvert to the outspoken activist his wife was is amazing and only
a few selected actors could pull this off. Get ready to hear his name come
Oscar time because his performance is one of the better ones this year and
if you need proof, the opening scene in which Justin first learns of Tessa's
death should convince you.
John le Carre's novel gives us a look into the atrocities the pharmaceutical
companies commit on the poverty stricken citizens of Africa by testing new
drugs on them while the embassy's and governments sit back and watch. During
Justin's journey to finish his wife's work and expose the this conspiracy,
Meirelles shows this to us in a rough kinetic style that keeps the film
full of energy and away from the static clean style that often gives similar
films that cold stand offish feeling. One moment he is showing the viewer
the depressing situations and struggles in Shantytown, the next moment it's
the beauty and peacefulness that is often overshadowed by Africa's current
situation. By adding Meireles unique visual style to The Constant Gardener,
the film never seems to slow down. Even in a conversation scene, he throws
in enough visual flare to keep your eyes from wandering around the theater.
By releasing The Constant Gardener in early September, Focus Features
is really taking a gamble to get a head start on the Oscar buzz and this
gamble is certainly paying off. The Constant Gardener is one of
the best films of the year. The combination of Meirelles unique style, John
Le Carré's powerful story and Ralph Feinnes and Rachel Weisz's gripping
performance will certainly get this film recognition come Oscar time. I
have not read Le Carré's novel so a lot of the arguments fans of the book
have brought up are falling on deaf ears, but from what I have read the
film maintains the essence of the story. It's been a long time since a conspiracy
thriller has been this good and hopefully other filmmakers can use The
Constant Gardener as a reference to keep this genre from getting stale
again.
The Constant Gardener
The Constant Gardener
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