The Constant Gardener is a gripping and fascinating mixture of a requited love story and a political intrigue thriller, but more importantly, it delivers a potent message against the exploits of our corporate giants in Third World countries. Directed by Fernando Meirelles (City of God [2003]) and based on a John Le Carr's dense novel of the same name, the film concerns an uptight British diplomat named Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) who is leading a rather monotonous life with his plants until he meets an eccentric activist, Tessa (Rachel Weisz in an Oscar worthy performance). Tessa convinces Justin to take her along to his post in Kenya where she discovers malpractice from pharmaceutical companies who have ties with high-ranking political officials. With help from a Kenyan doctor (Hubert Kound), she prepares a report of the wrongdoings and sends it through Justins friend and Head of Chancery (Danny Huston) to the High Commissioner (Bill Nighy) back in London without fully recognizing the consequences.

By employing an elliptical approach to his narrative, Meirelless transformation of his leading man, who by nature remained ambivalent about his wife and her cause early on, is graceful and proficient -- and its certainly helped by the fact that Fiennes has played similar characters before. Working with his City of God DP, Csar Charlone, Meirelles vividly portrays the poverty-stricken villages, but at times his stylistic flourishes still come dangerously close to becoming an exercise in strained picture-postcard aesthetics (one of the many problems his debut feature had). However, whats encouraging is his reserve when it comes to violence and emotional conflicts, not to mention his handling of the narrative as it passes through multiple tones and genres. Thats not to say that The Constant Gardiner doesnt indulge in broad strokes or even didacticism at times, but it still has a powerful and affecting resonance due to the pertinence of its overall agenda and Rachel Weisz, whose mere visage makes the film come alive.

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*THE CONSTANT GARDENER is now playing in theaters nationwide.