Sunday, October 09, 2005

The Constant Gardener (2005)

I freely admit that The Constant Gardener went on too long. There were too many flashbacks to how Justin (our hero) and Tessa (his murdered wife) met. Major plot devices were contrived along the lines of Swiss cheese. Not to mention that the Big Pharma bad guys are entirely too easy a target. And there really wasn't enough gardening or constancy on the part of the hero to justify the title.

So why did I love this movie? Three things. First, you have to realize that the Big Pharma story is just a means to an end: the revelation of the true nature of a marriage after it has ended. Second, I loved the Tessa character -- she was passionate and lived life to the fullest, and drew men into her orbit easily without even trying to. Yet she was true to her husband, and loved him madly. Third, the African backdrop was beautiful and harrowing, so true to life.

What more do you want?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I think the movie went too long and I really found it to be a tab bit over the top.

LeesMyth said...

Well, you are certainly not alone in that assessment.