The Constant Gardener (2005)

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

Director:

Fernando Meirelles

Writers:

Jeffrey Caine (screenplay), John le Carré (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Hubert Koundé

Won 1 Oscar. Another 22 wins & 45 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ralph Fiennes	...	Justin Quayle
Rachel Weisz	...	Tessa Quayle
Hubert Koundé	...	Dr. Arnold Bluhm (as Hubert Kounde)
Danny Huston	...	Sandy Woodrow
Daniele Harford	...	Miriam
Packson Ngugi	...	Officer in Morgue
Damaris Itenyo Agweyu	...	Jomo's Wife
Bernard Otieno Oduor	...	Jomo
Bill Nighy	...	Sir Bernard Pellegrin
Keith Pearson	...	Porter Coleridge
John Sibi-Okumu	...	Dr. Joshua Ngaba
Donald Sumpter	...	Tim Donohue
Archie Panjabi	...	Ghita Pearson
Nick Reding	...	Crick
Gerard McSorley	...	Sir Kenneth Curtiss

Storyline

In a remote area of Northern Kenya, activist Tessa Quayle is found brutally murdered. Tessa's companion, a doctor, appears to have fled the scene, and the evidence points to a crime of passion. Members of the British High Commission in Nairobi assume that Tessa's widower, their mild-mannered and unambitious colleague Justin Quayle, will leave the matter to them. They could not be more wrong. Haunted by remorse and jarred by rumors of his late wife's infidelities, Quayle surprises everyone by embarking on a personal odyssey that will take him across three continents. Using his privileged access to diplomatic secrets, he will risk his own life, stopping at nothing to uncover and expose the truth - a conspiracy more far-reaching and deadly than Quayle could ever have imagined.

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Plot Keywords:

kenya | death | diplomat | murder | doctor | 

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Taglines:

Love. At any cost.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violent images and sexual content/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Universal [us]

Country:

UK Germany USA China

Language:

English Italian Swahili German

Release Date:

31 August 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

El jardinero fiel

Filming Locations:

Berlin Hauptbahnhof, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

£15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$92,380 (South Africa) (6 January 2006)

Gross:

$359,387 (South Africa) (20 January 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, UK Film Council, Potboiler Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (as dts) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mike Newell was originally set to direct, but he dropped out after being offered Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Coincidentally, both films feature Ralph Fiennes.

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Goofs

In the scene where Birgit is leaving on her bike past an ominous, yet ultimately not dangerous, black sedan, she is shown passing the car, but when the camera cuts back to Justin, she is shown as not having passed the black sedan yet.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Justin Quayle: Oh, thank you Arnold. I... I can manage that. But I still don't see why you couldn't wait a couple of weeks. Why go all the way up to Loki?
Tessa Quayle: Well, we want to hear Grace Makanga speak, and she won't be coming to Nairobi.

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Crazy Credits

END CREDITS DISCLAIMER: Nobody in this story, and no outfit or corporation, thank God, is based upon an actual person or outfit in the real world. But I can tell you this; as my journey through the pharmaceutical jungle progressed, I came to realize that, by comparison with the reality, my story was as tame as a holiday postcard. --John Le Carré

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood's Top Ten: All About Politics (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Dicholo"
(2005)
Written and Performed by Ayub Ogada
Mixed by Ben Findlay
Published by Womad Music Ltd.
(p) 2005 Real World Records Ltd. / Virgin Records Ltd.
Ayub Ogada appears courtesy of Real World Records Ltd.

User Reviews

Great Great film.

I thought the movie was great and worthy of the praise it has been getting from audiences and critics alike. Ralph Fiennes gives the performance of his career as a grieving man looking for answers and is slowing discovering the corruption all around him and Rachel Weisz steals the film whole heartily with a really deserving Oscar worthy performance as a human rights activist who will stop at nothing to get at the truth. The story is pretty scary and the cinematography is fantastic. Yes, the shaky camera can get in the way but it's not distracting enough to ruin the film.

If you want to see a movie that will make you think, this is it.