The Constant Gardner - movie

I have finally seen The Constant Gardner, the movie which I had heard about and led me to read the book by Le Carre'. It a little hard to review a movie once one has read the book, because there is so much back story that automatically gets filled in. This is a complicated story line, and I think the movie does get a little lost in the fine details. The movie is very true to the book, which is a trait in adapted screenplays that I appreciate.

I really loved this movie; it is beautiful to watch. Instead of using more traditional forms of big budget videography, Fernando Meirelles, the director, used a lot of smaller, handheld cameras, which gives the film a rough, documentary feel. The viewer walks down the street along with the actors, rather than merely observing them doing so.

Any time you see a movie that is set in a place where you have personally walked, it has a strong emotional pull. That could be true no more than my experience with this movie. The original plan had been to do the majority of the filming in South Africa, but after having seeing and experiencing Kenya, they opted to film the entire movie in that great east African country. My brother took me on a tour of Kabira, the slums so prominently highlighted in this movie, my first week in Africa. It was emotional and devastating to see the vast poverty and dismal living conditions of such beautiful people. That firsthand experience lent itself to emotional connection displayed by Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes in Justin and Tessa Quayle.

I recommend renting this dvd. Be sure to watch the deleted scenes and background stories in the bonus features - it will fill in some gaps that may have been left out from the story.