The problem with message movies is audiences often kill the messenger by not going to see them. Hopefully that won't happen to the excellent new picture "The Constant Gardener," based on a John Le Carre best seller and directed with intelligence and measured intensity by Fernando Meirelles. His Brazilian film "City of God" earned Meirelles a best director Oscar nomination and a place on nearly every 10-best list across the country. Read the full review
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.
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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