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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Love. At any cost.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

Screenwriter Jeffrey Caine said of Big Pharma: "I don't expect The Constant Gardener (2005) to change the conduct of international pharmaceutical companies. It might - best case - draw the attention of audiences to certain widespread practices of Big Pharma and in some small way help create a climate for more responsible behavior. The most important thing for me is that the film should illustrate the nature of commitment."

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Goofs

Berlin Main Station opened in June 2006, the building took more than 10 years. Before this. Trains only passed through the station, but did not stop there. So, Justin Quayle cannot have arrived at Berlin Main Station in 2004, when the movie is set, as it is implied. Also, long distance trains only stop underground. The tracks above ground are reserved only for regional trains.

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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

Referenced in WatchMojo: Top 10 Misleading Movie Titles of Popular Films (2016)

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Soundtracks

Kijani Mwana Mwali
Traditional
Performed by Bomas of Kenya
Taken from the album "Songs of African Heritage" EUCD1721
Courtesy of ARC Music Productions International

User Reviews

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Production Notes

Country:

UK Germany Kenya France USA China

Language:

English Italian Swahili German

Release Date:

31 August 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

La Constance du jardinier

Filming Locations:

Loiyangalani, Lake Turkana, Kenya

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,577,000, 4 September 2005

Gross USA:

$33,579,797

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$82,466,670

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