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, Danny Huston

Won 1 Oscar. Another 35 wins & 68 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

government corruption | conspiracy | pharmaceuticals | female rear nudity | cleavage | 

---

Taglines:

The highly anticipated international thriller from John le Carré & Fernando Meirelles the Academy Award nominated director of City of God

---

Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Production Notes

Country:

UK Germany USA China Kenya

Language:

English Italian Swahili German

Release Date:

31 August 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

El jardinero fiel

Filming Locations:

Loiyangalani, Lake Turkana, Kenya

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

Actress Rachel Weisz, who secured the pivotal role of activist Tessa Abbott Quayle, said of this film: "The love story and the political thriller element are completely interlocked - one doesn't happen without the other, and that's the cleverness of both John le Carré's novel and Jeffrey Caine's adaptation. Because of Justin [Ralph Fiennes]'s love for Tessa, he goes on a journey of discovery where he reaches a new level of self-knowledge, but he also discovers a huge political scandal."

---

Goofs

When Quayle shows the fake ID to the German police officer in Berlin, it is a Dutch passport. However, when he pockets the document again, it is shown to have a blue cover. Dutch passports have a red cover.

---

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.

---

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

---

Connections

Featured in The 78th Annual Academy Awards (2006)

---

Soundtracks

So Sei Viver No Samba
Written by Ari Moraes
Performed by Cibelle
Published by Les Editions De La Bascule / Strictly Confidential (BMI)
Under license from Ziriguiboom / Crammed Discs
Courtesy of Six Degrees Records
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group

User Reviews

A depressing and frustrating experience

The movie's frustrating because it gives you a problem in this world to be angry about, depressing because that problem probably won't be solved anytime too soon. It becomes even more depressing because it puts more than one face on the problem and allows us to see the issue through someone who experienced it firsthand.

It doesn't matter if that person is fictional or not. Ralph Fiennes makes him real, and Meirelles surrounds him with what looks and feels like the real world. Ralph Fiennes plays Justin Quayle, a British diplomat married to Tessa (Rachel Weisz, in a heartbreaking performance just as noteworthy as Fiennes's). Justin has a job to do in Africa, and Tessa makes him take her with him, despite his misgivings. They end up entangled in a pharmaceutical battle that has taken lives before and, before the movie is over, will take many more.

The subject matter here begs to be heard, and Meirelles has provided it with a compelling venue. He films with a style that constantly keeps us engaged. It's hard to find fault with this movie. I didn't find myself wholeheartedly loving it either, but I admire it for its courage and emotional truth. The Constant Gardener grips you from the start in the lives of these two people and never lets you go, not even when the movie is over. It's hard to forget this story. I wouldn't want to.