Movie Review: Constant Gardener

I haven't done a movie review in a while.....since I was just picking a random movie which was coming out on Tuesday and then saying if I liked it or thought it sucked. So, I decided to stop doing that....but today I watched this movie....and just had to write about it. So, here it is!



Constant Gardener
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz
Director: Fernando Meirelles



Here is a quick plot overview borrowed from imdb.com: In a remote area of Northern Kenya, activist Tessa Quayle (Rachel Weisz) 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 (Ralph Fiennes), 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.

I thought this movie was fantastic...hence the 4.5 star rating. I didn't really know what to expect when I first starting watching this movie...but I was surprising moved and touched. It is a story about the eternal love between the two main characters, even when they are tested. It is a movie about the courage and danger inherent in speaking the truth...about big government and big business. It's a dangerous concept to attempt to make the world better...especially in the third world. It takes an interesting look at the involvement of the drug companies in AIDS ravaged countries in Africa. So, being the social worker that I am....I loved this film. But as someone who loves film, it also was am incredibly well done story. I was completely taken in by the characters and was really invested in Fiennes' character finding the answers he desperately needed.

Rent this movie. It's a deep one...that makes you think, but well, well worth it!