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Original title: Constant Gardener, The Directed by
Fernando Meirelles Written by
John le Carré, Jeffrey Caine Cast
Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Hubert Koundé, Danny Huston, Daniele Harford [more]
Release Date
• USA: Sep 2, 2005
DVD Release Date
• R1: Jan 10, 2006
Budget GBP 15,000,000
BoxOffice: $33.6M
Official Website:
The Constant Gardener Website
MPAA Rating
Rated R for language, some violent images and sexual content/nudity.
Running Time
2 hours, 9 minutes
Country Germany, UK
Production Companies
Potboiler Productions, Epsilon Motion Pictures, Scion Films Limited, UK Film Council, Vierte Babelsberg Film
Studio Focus Features
More info on IMDb.com
Other Titles
• The Constant Gardener (2005)
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The Constant Gardener Reviews |
The Constant Gardener disturbs, lingers in the mind, for its images of Africa, images of corporate thuggery, images of well-meaning people drowning in their own self-deception (Woodrow), for its inner look at the machinations of imperialism with its mendacious servants, and so forth. Society is in deep crisis, and cinema is called on to continuously address this fact. [read review]
This movie is extremely well shot and edited, with a beautiful grainy look, dreamy over-exposed flashbacks, and a knack for matching the script's increasingly paranoid world with a filmic urgency that drives the story and keeps the viewer on edge. (Alliance Atlantis) [read review]
Helmer Meirelles and his behind the camera crew beautifully compliment the richly talented cast. Cinematography, by Cesar Charlone, is stunning with its lush look at the Kenyan landscape and the ravaging depiction of that nation’s shantytown poor. “The Constant Gardener” is a finely crafted, mentally challenging work that is a big cut above the usual thriller or conspiracy theory. I give it a B+. [read review] B+,A-
And this intelligent filmmaking lifts everything to an unexpectedly important level. In addition to being a gripping thriller and a stirring love story, the film highlights events and situations taking place right now--injustice that slips beneath the radar of public conscience. [read review]
Don’t get me wrong: “The Constant Gardener” is a meatier proposition than most of the summer releases, and its curiosity toward the world is rare and unflagging. Think about it a day later, though, and its hectic swoop from romance to thriller to campaign manifesto leaves oddly little afterglow. The gardener is the only constant here; so much else burns up and blows away. [read review]
--Anthony Lane (The New Yorker)
At the same time, the film falls into another familiar and rather discouraging system, that of mass media representations. Much as Tessa and Justin work as characters (thanks to subtle performances by both actors), they are troubling as bits of the larger text. [read review]
Fiennes and Weisz's rapport, in the flashbacks and occasional fantasies punctuating Quayle's journey, is The Constant Gardener's major asset, and those scenes are its narrative core. They turn the movie from a conventional political tract to an emotionalrite of discovery. [read review]
Like "The China Syndrome," "Silkwood" and "The Insider," it's a political thriller in the best sense of the term -- turning over crucial rocks, but engrossing the audience with the nail-biting process, not with what it finds underneath. [read review] 
This is among the best films I have seen this year. It combines great writing, acting, and directing into a package which works on many levels and is satisfying on each one. This is one that is sure to be around come awards season. [read review]
--Chris Beaumont (Movie-Gurus.com)
The problem isn’t one of performances, however, but one of condescension. In Meirelles’ faulty equation, Africa is a mess because of Western businesses, and the only solution is the virtuous gallantry of Western do-gooders [read review] 
--Nicholas Schager (FilmCritic.com)
This is an interesting, entertaining movie which is worth seeing. My advice is to close your mind to the ill-informed message about the usefulness of expired drugs and watch with a healthy skepticism of the main premise. [read review] 7/10
--Tony Medley (TonyMedley.com)
The path takes him to a melancholy but somehow hopeful place not uncommon in le Carre's stories, where some justice gets done and a whole lot of wrong remains unpunished, yet love somehow still triumphs. [read review]
-- (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
One of the most erotic - and politically charged - scenes in the film depends more on pauses than on language. "The Constant Gardener" is a rare find indeed; perhaps the best film of the year to date. [read review]
The cast is terrific, from the alluring Weisz to the great Fiennes.They have us caring about the outcome of the puzzle and them suspenseful resolution. This is one "Gardener" that's worth digging. [read review]
Yes, it is devastated by disease, poverty and harsh weather, but you can't see any of that when the camera soars over its deserts and savannahs. From that vantage point, all we can see is beauty. [read review]
After a summer of mostly second-rate movies, the fall movie season gets off to an early start today (Wednesday) with the release of the movie version of John le Carré's The Constant Gardener... [read review] 
-- (ShowBizData.com)
The Constant Gardener is a thriller with plenty on its mind. It leaves us wondering how well we know the world around us, not to mention the people we love. It's appropriately unsettling. [read review] B+
"The Constant Gardener" begins with a strong, angry story, and peoples it with actors who let it happen to them, instead of rushing ahead to check off the surprises. [read review] 
--Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
Enraged you may well be by the end of The Constant Gardener; you're just as likely to wonder what any one person can possibly do in the face of what it delineates. [read review]
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. [read review]
Fiennes and Weisz almost save this film from being a confused effort, but it still is just that. [read review] C+
--Lee Tistaert (Lee's Movie Info)
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