'The Constant Gardener': Love amid the chase scenes
by John DeFore
Political thrillers often revolve around weighty issues and find time for romantic subplots. Typically, these elements are mostly decor, making a picture's real focus — its plot twists, double-crosses and chase scenes — look more interesting than they might be otherwise. One of the most remarkable things about "The Constant Gardener," then, is that it finds so much substance behind the decoration: You could walk out of the theater feeling you had seen a wrenching love story instead of a John Le Carre yarn.
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A British diplomat investigates the murder of his wife, who had been compiling evidence about a multinational drug company that uses people as guinea pigs to test its new — and dangerous — tuberculosis drug. He finds that those who may have had the most reason to silence her are closer to home than he ever imagined.
Focus Features
'The Constant Gardener'
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny Huston, Archie Panjabi, Bill Nighy
Run time: 129 minutes
Release date: August 31, 2005
Rating: R for language, some violent images and sexual content/nudity.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A-
"Ralph Fiennes gives an Oscar-worthy portrayal, holding us with his quivering half-smile and his wounded eyes. Rachel Weisz may have an Oscar chance as well."
Austin American-Statesman: 4 of 5 stars
"...a tense, intrigue-filled enterprise."
The Palm Beach Post: A-
"Fiennes is an ideal actor for Le Carre's world, for he expresses so much with the flicker of his eyelid."
The Palm Beach Post "Flick Chick"
"Well done, but part of one of my least-favorite film genres — the Dead Girl Movie."
Middletown Journal: A
"Like the romance it depicts, this movie takes root and grows into something even more vivid than it was at first sight."
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