The Constant Gardener
THE CONSTANT GARDENERÂ (15)
D:Â Fernando Meirelles
Focus Features/Potboiler/Scion/UK Film Council (Simon
Channing-Williams)Â
USA/UK 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 2005
123 mins
Thriller
W: Jeffrey Caine [based on the novel
by John le Carré]
DP:Â Cesar Charlone
Ed:Â Claire Simpson
Mus:Â Alberto Iglesias
PD: Mark Tildesley
Cos: Odile Dicks Mireaux
Ralph Fiennes (Justin Quayle), Rachel
Weisz (Tessa Abbott-Quayle), Danny Huston (Sandy Woodrow), Pete Posthelthwaite (Dr. Lorbeer), Bill Nighy (Sir Bernard Pelegrin)
A quite excellent, but fairly heavy-going adaptation
of a John le Carré novel about a British diplomat investigating the mysterious circumstances of his wife's death while the two are working in Kenya.
The pace of the movie begins quite stagnantly,
building up character and tension before a second and third act which are nothing short of brilliant, with two superb performances from Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, the latter of whom
won an Oscar for her work. Worth sticking with throughout a slow-moving first act for the rewards which come later in the film.
8/10
