Spoonixel
Amateur movie with Big budget
Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Fleur
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
Neelam Macwan
I'm writing this review after 12 years of release as I watched it recently and I loved it,it shook me. I'm a fan of love stories and this one is so true to reality. Amazing acting by Ralph and Rachel. Ralph had smitten me with his acting and portrayal of the husband who loved his wife dearly that he went to lengths for his love and humanity. The nearby reality of African nations was woven beautifully in this story. I didn't miss it for a single minute. I wished Ralph would have won an Oscar for his role. I never see Indian movies with true to its roots and that's why I liked this movie so much. Kudos to Ralph.
Nikita Wannenburgh
It wasn't a nice film, but it was a masterpiece all the same. It lacked Hollywood glamour, which was a relief, and portrayed the agony and horror of its circumstances brilliantly. I didn't love it, and I can't say I enjoyed it, but I definitely respect it for being a very well done piece of art. It was haunting, heart-breaking, and intelligent, with a very strong script, tight dialogue, and brilliant cinematography. Seriously, the cinematography was incredible; creative and clever. It was suspenseful, but that only really picked up about halfway through. Still, there was always the hint of something not right, and plenty of unanswered questions to keep us guessing. Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz gave exceptional performances. Raw, honest acting, with Weisz proving she was definitely worthy of her resulting Oscar AND Golden Globe award. I'm a big fan of Rachel Wesiz anyway, but she was purely outstanding in this film. She portrayed an energetic, often annoying, but always passionate young woman, with much more to her than meets the eye. Overall, it was an intelligent, gut-wrenching thriller with a firm emotional core and lead actors who gave it their all. Very impressive.
Robert J. Maxwell
These days we often read of "raids" by some radical outlaw group on third-world settlements. The image we have must be abstract for most of us because we've never been through one or seen one on video. The most shocking scene in this film describes such a raid. It results in hasty flight, kidnapping, and death. It's terrifying.Ralph Fiennes is a minor diplomat whose wife, Rachel Weisz, disappears while doing some humanitarian work in Africa.The plot involves a corrupt pharmaceutical company, friends that can't be trusted, beatings by strangers, and ultimately murder -- not counting the murders of the African patients who died as a result of ineffective medicines. Weisz mostly appears in overlighted flashbacks, a beautiful woman with a splendid broad nose.Fiennes unravels the mystery, to his own disadvantage, but it's a complicated business with many characters, helpful and deceitful, worthy of John Le Carré.Fiennes is good, it seems, no matter what his role. He was a government contractor in "The Hurt Locker" and looked dangerous. Here, he's earnest, determined, and in the end resigned.Aside from the usual, lamentable habit of shaking the camera and editing the film into tiny bits, the director does a good job of capturing Kenya in all its third-worldliness. The litter-strewn streets of the towns; the bleak desolation of its outback. The photography is in high contrast and drained of some color, more in some scenes than others. No slow motion, thank God.The flashbacks to Fiennes and Weisz together are overexposed and the effect is that of walking out of a dark theater into blazing sunlight. When we're not in Africa, we're in one of London's impeccably appointed private clubs with lunches and ridiculous rules.Nice job overall.
namashi_1
Based on the John le Carré novel of the same name, 'The Constant Gardener' is A Well-Acted Dramatic-Thriller! Its also impressively paced, nicely written & decently directed. Overall, A Winner!'The Constant Gardener' Synopsis: A widower is determined to get to the bottom of a potentially explosive secret involving his wife's murder, big business, and corporate corruption.'The Constant Gardener', despite its undeniable potential, lacks a nail-biting Screenplay. Jeffrey Caine's Adapted Screenplay is certainly good, but the thrills are missing. Though the story progresses on an impressive pace, the thrilling moments are lacking here. Fernando Meirelles's Direction is decent. Cinematography is fabulous. Editing is fairly edgy. Performance-Wise: Ralph Fiennes is top-notch, as always. Rachel Weisz, in an Oscar-Winning Performance, lends remarkable support. Danny Huston is in true form, as well. Bill Nighy is effortlessly evil, while the Late/Great Pete Postlethwaite is fantastic in a brief role. On the whole, 'The Constant Gardener' is far from perfect, but its well-made & well-acted nevertheless.
