The Constant Gardener

Thoughtful viewers will wonder how the left can rail against the lack of advanced medicines while so viciously attacking the pharmaceutical companies that develop and produce them | Andrew Coffin

If your politics lean left of center, you'll love this movie. The Constant Gardener, adapted from a novel by John Le Carré, was directed by Fernando Meirelles, a Brazilian who emerged on the international film scene with guns blazing—literally—in City of God. That calling card led to a plum Hollywood assignment in Gardener, which stars Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, and Danny Huston.

Mr. Fiennes plays the title green thumb, British diplomat Justin Quayle—stationed in Kenya and, as a sign of his profound disengagement with the world, immersed in his flora. Justin is married to his polar opposite, strong-willed activist Tessa (Ms. Weisz), who spends her days out among sick and dying Africans.

The Constant Gardener (rated R for language, some violent images, and sexual content/nudity) cleverly plays with time by telling its story both forward and backward. As the movie begins, Tessa and her driver are brutally murdered on the road back from a secretive humanitarian (or was it?) mission. Justin begins to sort through the details, lies, and innuendos that surround Tessa's life and death as the audience gradually learns more about how these two radically different personalities coexisted.