The Constant Gardener

After his activist wife (Rachel Weisz) is killed, a British diplomat (Ralph Fiennes), stationed in Africa, uncovers a conspiracy.

The Constant Gardener is a superbly acted and beautifully shot thriller that’s, unfortunately, devoid of any thrills.

Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz are both excellent in their roles, with believable chemistry between them. Weisz carries the film’s first half, with a performance that, at times, foreshadows her turn in The Shape of Things, while Fiennes carries the film’s later half with a solid, measured turn that resists the urge to go off the rails.

The location photography is wonderful and goes a long way toward establishing the film’s dusty, hot, atmosphere. Indeed, the Kenyan locales play almost as much of a role as Fiennes or Weisz.

Unfortunately, the script by Jeffrey Caine, from the novel by John le Carré, is a strictly by-the-numbers affair, with nothing in the way of real suspense or mystery. By the thirty-minute mark, you’ll have the whole plot figured out and from there it’s just a matter of waiting for the film to hit all the requisite notes before ending.

Indeed, The Constant Gardener seems less concerned with its own story as it is with reminding us over and over again how the African people are being exploited and oppressed. While this is a fine, and valid, point to make, the film goes about it with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, which has none of the resonance offered by a more nuanced approach. I mean, really, did we need that final shot of the running, smiling children? Really?