 The
Constant Gardener
Starring:
Rachel Weisz, Ralph Fiennes, Danny Huston, and Pete Postelwaite
Directed by:
Fernando Meirelles
Written by:John Le Carré (novel)
Jeffrey Caine
(screenplay)
Bluntly
speaking? The Constant Gardener is a grandious - blunt
- show that reveals the magic of film and its power to inform while entertaining.
Tis sly as a fox. The film, as a whole, is by far one of the finest politically
explosive thrillers made. Part docudrama-esque and part fictional melodrama, The
Constant Gardener is a multi-layered emotional journey through a nightmare
scape dotted with extreme talents escorting us through the whole sordid too-close-to-real
tale. Story
goes...A rather dull, if gorgeous, British diplomat Justin (Ralph Fiennes), meets
a lively and beautiful upstart sort, Tessa (Rachel Weisz). Though very different
in their approaches to world issues, they begin a love affair, which results in
marriage and a baby-on-the-way. All
rather standard fare ...so far... But,
as thrillers would have it (and the cast and crew surrounding the work would hint...),
the lack of trust and communication, within this smile-filled union is going to
get rather dramatic. Not giving away the plot (at all) young Tessa is brutally
murdered and may have been a less-than-faithful wife... But
her semi-blank beau actually stops, awakens and decides the stories of his beloved's
infidelities, and her coincidental death, don't ad up to a hearty porridge of
goo.
Justin starts to think he may be onto something big. Something deep
and sinister. En
route to vicious truths, along the trail of cover ups, double faced friends and
shadows, he finds himself in the woman he lost. The
deceptions and twists unfold deliciously, and the more political points seem to
have a small thread of truth (like a winter wool yarn) stitched into the fabric
of the script's fictional accounts... The
Constant Gardener
is wildly entertaining, enthralling and simply a must see. Sure, it's based on
the best-selling John le Carré novel, but it stays true to the book's soul.
Of course being directed by mega-talent Fernando Meirelles helped a wee bit. Rachel
Weisz has been in my sites as a, "Folks watch this power force rise"
since Confidence - yes she's also in The
Mummy films, but I speak about the gal's acting chops. She's also cute-n-beautiful
- even in khaki wears - damn her. Ralph
Fiennes....Ralph is like a heaping helping of manly berry torta rustica; layered
talent, bubbling with rich forbidden nummy bits. Within the film you watch his
character morph from dullard to a super-clever take-charge chap. It's one of his
finest performances - and that's saying something. The duo may get nods next spring
- they are just that good. Also
of take-note-of-the-talent-in-there is Danny Huston who plays a chap named Sandy.
He is let's just say, "a tad" creepy in the role. You'll see. He's from
the gaggle of Huston's (John, Angelica and so forth) that deliver film to us,
and is eking in to the mainstream. Snack
recommendation:
Tums and perhaps something sickeningly sweet to help spread happy endorphins into
the nervous system...
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