The other day, in the locker room at my local gym, I listened in on the conversation of two older women, regular lap swimmers, talking about their health, their husbands' health, the pills they take, their co-payments. The medication that was working and the ones that weren't. The big name drug that was costing an arm and a leg. The evil pharmaceutical companies. It's a tiny locker room. Still half dressed, I found myself saying: "You have to see 'The Constant Gardener.'"
Let me repeat: don't miss out on "The Constant Gardener." In his second film, Fernando Meirelles, the Academy Award-nominated director of the brilliant "City of God," moves out of the Brazilian slums and provides stunning images from inside the even larger shantytown of Kibera, located in the heart of Nairobi, Kenya. Frame for frame, "The Constant Gardener" is a lush, gorgeous film, capturing crowd scenes, intimate moments, and stunning landscapes with equal aplomb.
Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes in Fernando Meirelles' "The Constant Gardener."
Do not, however, pigeonhole Meirelles as the go-to-guy for films about third world poverty. His talent (as far as these two distinctive, powerful films prove) should not be qualified. Based on John le Carré's novel, "The Constant Gardener" is a gripping thriller, an unbelievably romantic love story, and a biting political take-down of pharmaceutical corporations that have Godlike power over life and death.
The romantic heroes are marvelously cast. Ralph Fiennes stars in the title role, our literal gardener Justin Quayle. Fiennes, the perfect dashing, sensitive heartthrob, has not had such a wonderful role since "The English Patient." Playing a mild-mannered English diplomat, stationed in Africa, Quayle learns the intensity of his love for his wife Tessa only after her life's work is threatened by the manipulations of the Big Pharma corporation that does not want its insidious secrets uncovered.
Rachel Weisz is absolutely radiant as Tessa, a brilliant and determined social activist, unflinching in her pursuit to uncover the unethical research methods practiced at the expense of impoverished Kenyan citizens. Weisz is luminous in every single shot--which is quite an achievement considering that the actress is nine months pregnant, sweaty and without make-up in many scenes.
Tessa is a woman who elicits the passions of others: not only her husband's, but a local Kenyan doctor (Hubert Koundé) and a corrupt member of the British High Commission (the remarkably contemptible Danny Huston.) Her discoveries drag her into a world-wide conspiracy. To go into further detail would ruin the element of surprise awaiting you. Just be warned: the evil lengths Big Pharma will go to are far worse than prohibitively expensive co-pay.
