Genre: personal and political drama
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Release: 2005
Studio: Potboiler Prodns et al. - Focus Features
Rating: R
MBiS score: 6.9/10
A Laboratory As Large As A Continent
When diplomat Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) appears before a London audience to deliver a speech on international issues, his drone will bore most attendees but not a passionate young woman named Tessa (Rachel Weisz) who chides him noisily about British policies abroad. Instead of being humiliated, Justin is instantly attracted to the pretty heckler and soon takes her with him to Kenya where she will ruffle important feathers. With Hubert Koundé (Arnold Bluhm), Danny Huston (Sandy Woodrow), Bill Nighy (Sir Bernard Pellegrin), Pete Postlethwaite (Lorbeer) and Gerard McSorley (Sir Kenneth Curtiss).
If, at first, THE CONSTANT GARDENER confuses you with its liberal use of flashbacks, it picks up considerable steam once the pieces of its political puzzle fall into place. There is much to like in this high-profile film, beginning with a refreshing and sexy Rachel Weisz who plays with genuine abandon, not unlike Helena Bonham Carter. Ralph Fiennes is also solid as a quiet and loyal civil servant. Other cast members are also excellent; in fact, you will rarely encounter such a splendid array of villains as those depicted here. I was also enthused by the movie’s exotic locale, spectacular visuals and empathy for the African people.
Unfortunately, much of THE CONSTANT GARDENER’s early brilliance is sullied by shaky motivations and melodramatic excesses.
Warning – Spoilers ahead! As for motivations, the script rests largely on Justin and Tessa’s believability… but are they credible enough? Personally, I don’t think so. Judging from what the camera shows us, their relationship seems so awkward and fabricated that it compromises the whole story; it’s as if these characters were tailored not for logic but for maximum suspense. Here are a few specifics. (1) Right off the bat, when Justin meets Tessa in London, his experience in foreign affairs and his ingrained servility should have alerted him against a hasty affair with a maverick like her. Was it love at first sight? Were these two made for each other? Did destiny call? Whatever the reason, prudence is such an integral part of diplomacy that Justin, a seasoned pro, should have exercised more or it
regardless of his feelings for Tessa. The man was flirting with disaster, no less. (2) Once in Kenya, when Tessa’s activism links her with Arnold, a new friend
in which she freely confides − more than in Justin, I might add − one scene shows the two friends whispering in front of an irritated Justin, Tessa yelling angrily at her lover and Arnold then talking to Justin in order to pacify him. But is it natural for a couple to work out their problems through an intermediary? Of course not. Logic would have dictated a frank discussion or even a good fight between Justin and Tessa but none of that appears on screen. (3) When Tessa sets to investigate British interests in Kenya, she reveals her work to several people but conceals it entirely from Justin in order to shield him. But how she could protect him while
publicly lambasting the country’s Minister of Health and forwarding explosive documents to a high-ranking British official is entirely beyond me. In politics, one partner’s activities are bound to reflect on the other… as countless scandals and even the Valerie Plame incident tend to establish. (4) When Justin is warned by a close colleague to control (or lock up) his mate − which proves that Tessa’s efforts to protect him were useless − he apparently does nothing to defuse the situation. From this, I can only conclude that Justin and Tessa, although a ‘couple’, live on different planets. For all we know, he rarely tries to find out what she does on her own time − although he
should for his career depends on it − and, when he does ask questions, he contents himself with bland and evasive answers. Such a conduct amounts to patent negligence… while Tessa’s secretiveness must be seen as misguided if not naive. What a pair these people make! While in Africa, we never see them talking candidly about politics or events of the day like regular folks do and, when Tessa becomes pregnant and tragically loses her baby, it almost doesn’t show in the couple’s behaviour. What we do see is Tessa investigating with her friend Arnold while Justin takes care of his plants. Of course, the plot depends in large part on Justin being kept in the dark and entertaining doubts about Tessa… but I can’t fathom his utter denial.
On the subject of melodramatic excesses, I disliked THE CONSTANT GARDENER’s heavy-handedness when the plot tenses up. Jittery camera work hints at danger lurking everywhere though it is evidently not the case. The overstuffed script drowns very sensible questions about Western aid to Africa in a cascade of twists, conspiracies and innuendo. For one thing, it suggests that the white man stalks Black Africa… but the attack on a Sudanese village by a rival tribe demonstrates that Blacks can be just as hostile to one another. Notice how deaths are accompanied by unjustifiable mutilation − thus raising suspicions of murder − like that suicide involving at least
eight bullet wounds (!). And why does Justin choose to face his enemies single-handedly in Turkana instead of counterattacking from London like logic warranted? Because he was remorseful after Tessa’s death? Maybe so… but his choice was most unwise for a rational man. By going back into the wild for a stagey confrontation, he did exactly what Tessa wouldn’t have wanted him to do: give up her fight and commit
suicide by proxy. By a twist of fate, his death will ultimately be avenged when the movie’s main evildoer is unmasked at his funeral but the script has photographers positioned
inside the church ready to click away… a shameless set-up that serves suspense at the expense of decency and reason. The shutterbugs could have waited outside, don’t you think?
At this point, of course, you know the score: this film has disappointed me plenty. I was expecting a movie as riveting as DIRTY PRETTY THINGS or THE INSIDER… not one that gets sucked into a downward spiral. You may disagree – as you are entitled to – but, all in all, I consider THE CONSTANT GARDENER a long and depressing ordeal.
MBiS
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