A constant delight

There are some subjects, writer John le Carré once said, “that can only be tackled in fiction”. It is curious, then, that Fernando Meirelles’ film adatation of one of le Carré’s most recent novels is so rooted in fact. The plot is, of course, entirely imaginary. After the horrific murder of his wife Tessa, British diplomat Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) continues her fatal investigation of a pharmaceutical company’s sinister dealings in NorthernKenya. In the process, he unearths secrets not only of illegal drug-testing, but about the mysterious life his wife lead. Yet, as always with le Carré, this fictitious scenery is a backdrop to contemporary political comment. The film is directed more to modern pharmaceutical companies (sustained, in le Carré’s words, by “huge wealth, pathological secrecy, corruption and greed”) than it is to our imaginations.The style in which The Constant Gardener is shot is as different to Meirelles’ most well-known film, City of God (2002), as could be. An adrenaline-fuelled chase through the street-life of Rio de Janeiro’s slums, City of God raced along at an intoxicatinglyvisceral speed. The Constant Gardener, by contrast, takes a more thoughtful pace, with narrative and characters alike teased out subtly and slowly. This gives us plenty of time to mull over what we’re witnessing. The downside is that it takes a long while to feel involved in the story enough to enjoy it.Ralph Fiennes is excellent in the lead role, the lines of his face speakinga jaded melancholy and pain at the death of his wife that he himself never vocalises. Throughout the film, his quest to uncover the truth about the pharmaceutical company is interspersed with flashbacks from his married life. Tessa Quayle (another quietly gripping performance from Rachel Weisz) was as passionate and full of life as her husband is restrained and, well, British. Justin discovers through his investigations not only horrific inhumanities but the love that his wife held for him, which he had doubted for a long while. The finesse with which Meirelles brings out this retrospective examination of a relationship is the best element of the film.Another high point is Bill Nighy’s dubious government official, Sir BernardPellegrin. “Some rocks are better left unturned,” he warns Justin over a fillet mignon, a sinister smirk lying underneath his charming politician’s smile. As Justin moves between exotic Kenya and drab London, the tension and paranoia build, culminating in death threats left him in his hotel rooms. The arresting thrills of this are set nicely against the more contemplativeside of the film, examining the complexities of morality and relationships.In one scene, Justin and a white friend rush towards an aeroplane, their only means of escape from a Kenyan village under attack. With them runs a terrified local black child. When they reach the plane she is not allowed on board with them, left to be raped and beaten because those are “the rules”. The film is packed with such injustices,yet ultimately they are so diluted through the slow pace and frequent digressions into flashback that their full emotional weight is never felt. The Constant Gardener is as well-constructed as it is beautifully shot, the rich tones of Africa captured with breathtaking vitality. This movie is as enjoyable as it is thought-provoking and intelligent. But when the screen went black and the credits rolled, it didn’t leave me half as outraged as I felt I should have been.ARCHIVE: 5th week MT 2005