Last year saw the release of a few high profile films which dealt with current global problems. Steven Gagham's Syriana explored US-Middle Eastern relations using oil as the centerpiece, the ultimate bargaining chip. In a similar vein, Fernando Meirelles' The Constant Gardener deals with the AIDS epidemic in Africa and the booming profits that pharmaceutical companies make off of the disease.
Like Gagham's film, Gardener travels to a number of counties, including England, Kenya and the Netherlands. However, where Syrianna's contractors and sheiks stood for mere talking points, Jeffrey Caine's script based on the John LeCarre novel, introduces complex characters who react, rather than just act. In addition, Meirelles' masterful skill of quick editing, along with gorgeous cinematography, help illustrate the story with a more poetic touch.
The film begins with Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) finding out that his wife has been killed in an apparent jeep accident. After Justin hears the news, the next half-hour is told through flashbacks detailing Justin's relationship with his wife, Tessa (Rachel Weisz). Tessa is a free spirit dying to save the world in whatever way she can. It soon appears that her plans were a bit too idealistic.
Justin, who is an English diplomat, decides to take Tessa with him on a trip to Kenya after she begs him for days. She soon gets swept up in the village life in Nairobi, becoming a confidant to all of the shantytown residents. While in Kenya, Tessa witnesses the residents receiving medicated shots, supposedly for HIV treatment. Upon questioning the drug suppliers, she finds that the drug is used to treat TB. The fact that none of the town's people have TB causes Tessa to be suspicious of this activity and leads her to launch a report on the issuing of the TB drug. Soon after finishing the report, she is killed.
It's up to the grief-stricken Justin to find the true circumstances of his wife's death. After returning to Nairobi, he discovers that Tessa's friend Arnold (Hubert Kounde) was tortured and killed. The story around town is that Tessa was cheating on Justin with Arnold. However, Justin learns that there is more to the murders than this simple story. He takes over his wife's work, investigating the drug and its distributor and finding some unpleasant facts. Basically, the drug companies are experimenting on the Africans in order to track side effects.
Despite the complicated plot and use of flashbacks, Meireilles is able to seamlessly tie the story together into a tense, yet attention demanding thriller. This being his second film, the young director had a lot to live up to after 2002's City of God, a harrowing portrait of Rio de Janeiro's favela slums. Meirelles certainly has an eye for detail, evident in his beautiful opening shots of flocking birds. When Nairobi is introduced into the story, the roofs in the shanty-town form a quilt of vibrant color that adds to the mystique of Africa. As previously mentioned, the director has a fondness for quick edits and frantic motion shots. They are used sparingly in the film, yet effectively. Whereas the camera-work could have overshadowed the already dense plot, Meirelles tones it down, especially in the crucial middle segment.
Ralph Fiennes is fine (I know it's terrible) as Justin, with his usually straightforward, serious tone. Someone needs to give this guy a massage because he always seems uptight. Even in the scenes previous to Tessa's death, Fiennes smile looks pained and awkward. Maybe he should try a comedy for once next time. Rachel Weisz is the main attraction in this one as Tessa. Her anger at the injustices she encounters comes out in every intense look she gives, yet an unforced gentleness is exposed when dealing with the Nairobi residents. You believe that Tessa would be doing this kind of important work.
The Constant Gardener is an important film in troubling times, where pharmaceutical companies are not held accountable for the devastation they sometimes inflict on the poor. Despite the heavy plot, the director is able to make it accessible to the common moviegoer and expose to them an issue which deserves more attention than it is given now.
"The Constant Gardener" opens August 31, 2005 and is rated R. Drama. Directed by Fernando Meirelles. Written by Jeffrey Caine (screenplay), John le Carre (novel). Starring Bill Nighy, Danny Huston, Rachel Weisz, Ralph Fiennes.
