The Constant Gardener (2005)

Director:

Fernando Meirelles

Writers:

John le Carré (novel)
Jeffrey Caine (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 August 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Love. At any cost.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Kenya | Diplomat | Death | Murder | Conspiracy

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 20 wins & 42 nominations

Cast

Ralph Fiennes	...	Justin Quayle
Rachel Weisz	...	Tessa Quayle
Hubert Koundé	...	Dr. Arnold Bluhm
Danny Huston	...	Sandy Woodrow
Daniele Harford	...	Miriam
Packson Ngugi	...	Officer in Morgue
Damaris Itenyo Agweyu	...	Jomo's Wife
Bernard Otieno Oduor	...	Jomo
Gerard McSorley	...	Sir Kenneth 'Kenny' Curtiss
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

Also Known As:

Der ewige Gärtner (Germany)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

UK | Germany

Language:

English | Italian | Swahili | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Australia:M | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-11 | Singapore:NC-16 | Brazil:14 | Taiwan:R-12 | Argentina:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:12 | Spain:13 | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:12 | France:U | Malaysia:U | Hungary:16 | Iceland:16 | Norway:11 | South Korea:15 | USA:R (certificate #41450) | Sweden:11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Berlin Hauptbahnhof, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Potboiler Productions

Trivia:

Director Fernando Meirelles lobbied to have the movie shot in Kenya (where the story is supposed to take place) instead of in South Africa (where most of the film industry is located).

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In the credits at the end of the film, "Editing" is spelled "Edting."

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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Forever

Beautiful, Haunting and mesmerizing

Great romantic thrill ride that is made even more special by the performances of Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes, who both give this adaptation of the John Le Carre book a real sense of beauty, dignity and grace with their on target performances. Weisz is perfection as Tessa Qualye, a civil rights activist who is murdered for trying to bring awareness of their illegal practices on the poor natives of an African village. Weisz gives her character a self-righteous drive that is made poignant by her determination and sheer will and she also makes her character human, not a stereotype, which makes her performance the more real. Ralph Finnes plays her grieving husband Justin, who takes up her cause and begins to lean of how wonderful his wife really was and what he missed during the time she was alive. His haunted performance is in my opinion his best ever and is the driving point of this haunting odyssey of justice, lost and self sacrifice. Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes both deserve Oscar nominations for their superb performances and Fernando Meirelles deserves one as well for his superb direction that puts you smack in the middle of the story that is unfolding right in front of you.

Hands down, the best film of the year so far.