There have been nifty thrillers over the years with conspiracy attached, and many of them have been good like The Parallax View and JFK. Yet few of these have been able to rise above the visceral angst of suspense and intrigue to attain another level of human emotion. One good example is the recent adaptation of John Le Carre’s novel, The Constant Gardener. Adapted by Jeffrey Caine and directed by Fernando Meirelles, this is a superior cinematic rendition of a good, moral suspense yarn told with methodical precision and emotional resonance.
Tessa (Rachel Weisz) is a volunteer-activist who marries timid diplomat, Justin Qualye (Ralph Fiennes) and follows him to Kenya in Africa. When his wife goes missing, Justin decides to follow his wife’s trail and find out what really happened and why. The clues lead to a pharmaceutical drug corporation that is testing tuberculosis drugs on the lower class population. What Justin finds is a shocking conspiracy of secrets and lies reaching up to the British government and a corporate entity that will stop at nothing to release its money making windfall. As Justin discovers the truth, he begins to understand the ruthless nature of conspirators even as he begins to uncover the truth about his marriage.
This is a chilling mystery story that is at its heart a tale of romantic love between a man and a wife he really doesn’t know. Although not perfect, it does endeavor to be many things, and it integrates the love story that forms the soul of the film with an elaborate detective story that touches upon morality, fear, hope, and redemption and achieves them quite well. It’s like reading a long, complex novel. That a film could be filled with so many attributes is quite an achievement and a testament to the source material by Le Carre, a constant source of complex, filmic material ever since the breakout adaptation of his The Spy Who Came in From the Cold in the 1960’s. It is also a tribute to director Meirelles who has a sure hand in every scene and edit while never losing track of his many themes and maintaining strong performances from his talented cast.
At first Justin is oblivious to the insidious forces around him. The garden that he tends to is a metaphor of sorts to a basic, uncomplicated view of his world that is suddenly shaken. The backgrounds in many scenes show a rural countryside with poor people struggling to survive. Life is hard for the people in a harsh landscape. There are always incidental shots of children usually in the background as casual bystanders or observers; they are the innocent ones. This story and its people are distant cousins of the drug gangs in Meirelles’ previous, breakthrough film, City of God. It is in this setting that Justin retraces Tessa’s footsteps which lead to a dirty secret and a rediscovery of their love. Throughout it all, there is an almost inevitable, hopeless feeling, like a stacked deck against Justin. Then there is the question of trust. Who to trust? It seems everyone is either partly involved with the bad guys or reluctant to get involved. There are different levels of trust. There is the hint of marital infidelity and the questioning of loyalty. In this respect, The Constant Gardener reminds one of the underrated Under Fire.
The narrative fluidly flashes back and forth at will to show the beginnings of Justin and Tessa’s relationship amid the intrigue in Kenya. There’s also lots of handheld camera work (Cesar Charlone) that gives the film a semi documentary feel. While the look is raw and primitive, the editing (by Oliver Stone alumni Claire Simpson) is sophisticated and clever as various bits of associative imagery are connected to great emotional and informative effect. A great deal of thought and planning went into this story and its adaptation to connect the dots.
Fiennes is excellent as the beleaguered husband who seeks the truth about his wife. He has a knack for playing tragic characters (Quiz Show, The English Patient), and he has never been better than in this role. You feel his confusion and pain as he goes against difficult odds. Rachel Weisz is terrific as the brave crusader of the African people who risks harm and her marriage by digging for the truth. You feel her passion in Tessa’s character and the free spirit that dominates every scene she is in. You just know that Tessa’s own hard-headed agenda will get her in trouble. It is a far cry from Weisz’s days in action blockbusters like The Mummy, and it is her best role to date. The rest of the uniformly strong cast is excellent particularly Bill Nighy as the slimy Pellegrin.
If you are a conspiracy buff, then this is your kind of film. Although it is a bit of a downer, ultimately it is a haunting fable with memorable imagery, and it is a film that stays with you long after it is over. It should stay with Oscar voters for the long term as well.
***1/2 of **** stars
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