Come on, no drug company could really be this unethical...

The scariest thing about THE CONSTANT GARDNER is that while it may not be true, it's completely plausible. Appologies first, I saw this movie on my trip so it's been a while but I am trying to catch up on my posts... Secondly, as per my norm, this is based on a book that I never read... but who has time for books when they have to go sit in 107 degree weather and watch concerts?

Anyway, the Fernando Meirelles (City of God) directed film looks great (cinematography strongly reminiscent of TRAFFIC) and tells a great story. The cast, lead by the always compelling Ray Fiennes as a low-ranking British diplomat, gives moving and exciting performances. (It is always good to see Kobayashi (Pete Postlethwaite) in a role of questionable trust.) The basic premise is that Feinne's wife is killed in a developing African nation and there is a huge government coverup to protect whatever rats she may have found in whatever closets. The details are especially frightening, and I won't ruin it by telling you, but be prepared. The story is one that reeks of our own disinterest in the African continent and hope the movie-going public will be properly chagrinned. The main problem with the movie, however, is the way the director chooses to tell the story, which undercuts the mystery element of what is essentially a Mystery movie.

It is no great surprise to reveal that Rachel Weisz, who plays Fienne's revolutionary wife, dies at the opening of the movie. The rest of the film is basically concerned with the unravelling of the reasons behind her death. The problem is that we are treated to several minutes (around 20 actually) of scenes that Fiennes would have not been privy. So the audience always knows more then him and we are just waiting for him to catch up. Far more effective are the moments where Fiennes remembers a situation and learns later that something far different was actually going on. Most of this illogical story-telling occurs in the first thirty minutes and once we get past that the movie is quite an enjoyable watch. However, enough of it occurs that the 'revelation' is hardly that, so it's a mystery film where the mystery is tied up relatively easy and then we have to move on to what's done about it. And seeing how this is not a big budget action film, there is not any chance that this process is going to be any more interesting than the quest for truth we've just had.

I don't know, maybe the book handles it better - I couldn't help but feel there was a lot of exposition glossed over rather quickly and poorly at times. Or maybe there is a whole nother edit in the can that flows more like a traditional suspense/mystery. I couldn't help but feel it was a really great story being held back by a pretty poor story-teller. THE CONSTANT GARDENER is recommended for fans of political conspiracy movies, anyone thinking about working for an overseas drug company, fans of writer Jean Le Carre, and people who can't make it through Grandpa's stories without figuring out the ending. Rick's Rating: B-