constant gardener

THE FLICK: Based on the novel by John Le Carre, the weightier flip-side of “lit-lite” espionage authors like Robert Ludlum, The Constant Gardener is a film that’s easy to walk away from. There’s no Bond-esque opening action scene. In fact, there are no action scenes, period, by Hollywood standards. None of the characters are particularly likeable or even sympathetic for much of the running time. And the script does all it can to keep you at a distance from the truth behind its political plotting until the film is almost half over. Yet, it’s all a set-up. Like a cinematic con game, when director Fernando Mierelles pulls the big switch-a-roo, you never see it coming. And by the film’s few final shots, the audience has gone through the same emotional ringer as lead character Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), who re-discovers his wife’s moral piety (and marital fidelity) only after her death. An unlikely couple from the start, Justin’s marriage to Tessa (Rachel Weisz) seems to take a backseat to his wife’s outspoken attack of injustices big and small. And when they’re sent on a diplomatic mission to Africa, Tessa’s research into a pharmaceutical testing program on the unwilling population eventually results in her very unnatural death. Justin is left with a box full of letters and just as many unanswered questions, starting with his own suspicions of Tessa’s sexual exploits. This jumping off point is a long time in coming. But it’s absolutely essential to Justin’s (and the audience’s) journey of discovery. How we feel about Tessa is so tied up in Justin’s fears and timidity that the cathartic release of each secret revealed is an unbelievably powerful experience for both him and us. The story’s eventual emotional balance is the culmination of long stretches of lies, mistrust, love and devotion; where every line of dialogue carries multiple meanings. Although his style might seem counterintuitive to a story of such introspective nature, Mierelles (who wowed the world with his debut film, City of God) uses his hyperkinetic cutting and improve-like line readings to great affect. His camera captures both the social intrigue lurking behind the Third World setting and the pitfalls of marriage with equal visual ferocity. With more outright commercial material it’s easy to see Mierelles inheriting to the mantle of “docu-thriller-action-king” William Friedkin abdicated in the ‘70s. But bear in mind, this is a film that avoids the “thriller” label quite adeptly, and takes time to earn your respect. THE FEATURES: Universal’s presentation on DVD is very satisfying. A number of deleted scenes (and one extended segment of an African play in its entirety) could have easily been included in the finished film, particularly a clandestine meeting in Canada between Justin and an ex-drug company employee that greatly enhances the film’s sense of paranoia. Embracing Africa is a first-hand look at the actual Kenyan locations used in the film; the culture, the beauty and the poverty. John Le Carre: From Page to the Screen is an in-depth interview with the author regarding the process of translating his work (and specifically The Constant Gardener) for film producers. While Behind the Scenes of The Constant Gardener is...well...exactly what you think it is.