The Constant Gardener - A really hard working gardener? (The Constant Gardener (DVD))

Member Name: Palmer89

Product:	The Constant Gardener (DVD)
Date:	20/08/09 (27 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Acting, Story

Disadvantages: Slow Moving

The Constant Gardener is a conspiracy thriller based on drugs testing in South Africa, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz as a married couple, one of whom is a british diplomat, the other a woman determined to help those who need it most, when she is killed in Africa Justin (Fiennes) decides to take matters into his own hands to uncover the conspiracy and the truth about his wifes murder.

The plot is unique and one that I do like, a conspiracy needs uncovered, the 2 people who were close have been killed and now it's up to someone, someone who had no real interest in the trials to uncover the mystery regarding the deaths of hundreds of innocent Africans and that of his wife. The story is very good, the only gripe I have with the film is the length of it, I have no idea how long it is but it felt like a lifetime, so either this film is too long or it seems too long, I think the former is true and it definatly over stays it's welcome. Although the ending is very good.

The acting is superb, having only seen Fiennes in one film before (In Bruges) I expected a similar performance, and we got one, a brilliant performance in a role completley different to that he plays in In Bruges. Weisz is a famous actress made famous from films such as The Mummy, she plays a much tougher role this time around but fills it out superbly. The support from numerous well known actors, not least Peter Posthwaite among them. The special features on the dvd were very good, there was 2 similar makings of featurettes as well as a feature on the way it was adapted from the book that it was originally. I was impressed with the special features, they were quite long features as well and definatly added to the film as a whole.

I thought the film was pretty good, had the film been shorter it would have gone down much better with me I think, after a while it started to grate how slowly things were moving despite knowing what needed to happen, the 3rd quarter of the film dragged endlessley and ended up making me want the film to end, other than that however the film was very good, a good stroy with superb acting.

Summary: Good other than the length