Movie Review

Constant Gardner

A Movie Review By Susan Frome

"The Constant Gardener" is rather disappointing. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't go see it. Ralph Fiennes is always worth watching even in a weak part such as this one. Another plus is that the movie is adapted from a John le Carre novel, and thirdly, it is a murder mystery/love story/international espionage yarn. These are all good reasons to rush to your nearest theater a.s.a.p, expecting this is going to be a great movie - at last!

Yes, Mr. Fiennes (The English Patient) is a pleasure to see again, but here he plays an ineffectual British diplomat named Justin Quayle as if he were an amiable but sad lap dog who barely speaks at all, and when he does, you may miss half of what he's saying. He meets and falls instantly in love with Tessa (Rachel Weisz), a revolutionary-type English college student, who has the opportunity during a lecture to vehemently attack the British government's involvement in the Iraq war, among other issues. This whole section is actually presented in flash backs after Quayle finds out that his wife, Tessa, has been murdered out in the wilds of Kenya. The story of how they got to Kenya, etc., is another section of the movie. The third section is devoted to Quayle's investigation of her murder and his deeper involvement in Kenyan and global corruption.

However, the movie does not follow a clear through-line section by section. Instead, it jerks back and forth threading its way among them, making it very difficult to follow what's happening. One moviegoer at the screening I attended could not understand when the flashbacks took place and vocally complained that she was unable to follow what was going on. Perhaps a straightforward telling of the story might be dry and boring, but there are ways to weave these strands of narrative in interesting but understandable ways. After all, that is the job of the adapter, Jeffrey Caine, and the director, Fernando Meirelles. What we end up with here is a jumble of information, spoken in mumbled English accents, much of which we just have to give up on.

The photography by Cesar Charlone is both revealing and annoying. We are taken to the horrible reality and, at the same time, colorful, African slums and markets. We see the infected, dark and dirty hut that serves as a "hospital", we witness the patients dying of tuberculosis from ineffective medications produced by criminal pharmaceutical companies. This is clear and straightforward. However, when we travel with Quayle to Europe, all of a sudden the camera goes berserk with fancy trickery- and for what good reason? None comes to mind.

Having said all this, there are better things to see here than in almost any other movie now playing. Just the fact that the movie wants to spotlight the corruption going on in global pharmaceutical markets, the photographic views of dire needs in Africa, and the possibility of moving from diffident inertia (on Fiennes' part) to active caring and intervention, makes it a worthy project.

After viewing "Broken Flowers," it appears that it is true - there are hardly any other movies playing that are better than "The Constant Gardener." The new Bill Murray effort should perhaps be titled "Boring Hours," just to give the moviegoer a hint of what they are in for, and then they will doubtless choose "Gardener" instead. Jim Jarmusch (Coffee and Cigarettes) is responsible for the writing and directing, and this new work is considered more straightforward than his earlier films. That should give you a clue about those earlier pieces.

Sadly, Mr. Murray is getting better and better at playing very depressed, pale and wan, end-of-the-line characters. Here he plays Don Johnston, a retired computer exec, whose latest very young girlfriend has just left him. But he's used to that because he's been a Don Juan, so we're told, all his life. However, there is no evidence of that life whatsoever. He lies about his house/mausoleum on a leather sofa, a place as empty of any signs of life as he is. Not an auspicious beginning.

The story hinges on his receiving a letter in the mail from some girlfriend of twenty years ago advising him that he is the father of her son. The son, in turn, has left home to look for his biological dad. The mother does not sign her name - so it's hard to narrow the list down to who this woman might be. Don's African-American next-door neighbor and only friend, Winston, played openly and genuinely by Jeffrey Wright, takes a great interest in this problem and finally makes a list of four possible choices. He arranges flights, car rentals, and motels so that Don can go out there and find this former lady-friend - and perhaps his offspring.

Needless to say, the rest of the movie is about the journey to these various women's homes. Sharon Stone is the first and the friendliest. Her teen-age daughter takes after Mom, sexually precocious, not above walking naked around the house. One of the best shots in the movie is of her in a scant bathing suit standing in the large picture window, taking up the whole space, as she waves goodbye to Mom's old lover and nighttime guest. Other possible mothers of his possible child include Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, and Tilda Swinton. They aren't very interesting except for Ms. Swinton as a biker's gal, complete with tattoos, hanging out in a shack.

The only saving grace is that there may be a worthwhile message here: if you visit your past, you may find out why your present is the way it is.

With its interminable stretches of gray, empty landscapes and awkward silences, "Broken Flowers" is hard to take. After "Lost in Translation," we certainly had higher hopes for Mr. Murray's next sad-sack-but-still-alive character. Perhaps things will improve on the next go-round.

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