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The Constant Gardener

Meirelles used his newfound success as a way to tell another story that he felt had meaning – another exercise of using his frenetic and kinetic style to complement a story, not override it. Sticking with his third-world sensibilities, but in English this time – The Constant Gardener is a beautifully shot, contemplative thriller in the vein of Michael Clayton, with a setting more akin to Last King Of Scotland. The story is pure fiction, but probably has some basis in reality – it revolves around a man trying to uncover the mysteries behind his wife's murder. What he discovers is a labyrinth of lies and cover-ups surrounding government and pharmaceutical companies that his wife was working to expose.

Rachel Weitz won an Oscar for her turn as the departed wife, with much of her story told via flashbacks. But it is Ralph Fiennes that really steals the show here. His performance is raw and vulnerable and after watching any one of Fiennes' hard hitting, villainous performances as Voldemort in the Harry Potter films or as the Tooth Fairy in Red Dragon, its hard to believe that this meek, yet impassioned character is played by the same actor. He truly transforms the movie and even raises the quality above what is already an above average story.

Once again, the technical achievements, considering the general low budget and lack of effects work, is quite special. In particular, Meirelles crafts some excellent flashback sequences with Weitz. These scenes manage to merge the present and past with some creative framing, editing, and exposure, and the end result is almost graceful and poetic.

Unfortunately, the film, just as Michael Clayton and Last King of Scotland do as well, sacrifices what could have been a more fitting or realistic ending for what is instead a Hollywood-ending. It allows for some kind of retribution or satisfaction from the protagonist in the final scenes and frankly, I find this story of one man who single-handedly brings down an entire pharmaceutical company and government cover-up a little hard to believe. I know the final scene where he gets to tell the world that screwed him over to shove it is satisfying, but it also doesn't ring true to the overall tone of the film. The movie treats the viewer as an adult for a full hour and 50 minutes – there's no need to pander to us down the home stretch. This isn't Bourne – we know Fiennes' character isn't a superhero, so he doesn't have to save the day.

Specialty distributor Focus Features released The Constant Gardener during the slow month of September. The film capitalized on some early awards season momentum and managed to rake in a decent $33 million. The film earned an impressive $82 million worldwide, making it an unqualified success against its quant $25 million budget. All told, Weitz walked away with a statue and the film also received nominations for editing, score, and adapted screenplay. My personal qualms with the ending aside, Meirelles was fast building a reputation as a director to watch for.

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