The Constant Gardener



A 2005 film, based on a book by John Le Carre.

Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), a British diplomat and horticulture enthusiast living in Kenya, is informed that his activist wife Tessa (Rachel Weisz) was found dead in the veld, murdered along her driver. Shaken up by this, Justin begins to investigate how and why his beloved wife was killed. But as he investigates the circumstances around her murder, Justin not only finds a terrifying conspiracy from a Pharmaceutic company using the locals as unwilling test subjects, but also evidence that his wife may not have loved him the way he always thought she has...

This film is beautifully and artfully filmed, and plenty of the Camera Tricks are put in play at some point. But between the Flash Backs and Justin's Dream Sequences/ hallucinations, it takes some thought to keep up with the narrative.


 * Anachronic Order
 * The Atoner: Dr. Lorbeer. Justin as well
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Sir Bernard Pellegrin, Head of FCO Africa desk, and one of Justin's bosses. Quite apart from being one of the highest-ranking conspirators, the letter he wrote to Sandy (in response to Tessa's findings) reveals just how unpleasant he really is under his genteel exterior: in particular, he refers to Tessa as "your resident harlot."
 * Can't Stop the Signal
 * Cool Old Guy: Tim Donohue.
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive:
 * Cruel and Unusual Death:.
 * Dude Magnet: Tessa
 * Driven to Suicide: How the conspiracy plans to spin Justin's death
 * Enemy Mine: As a form of revenge against his ex-paymasters, Kenny Curtis supplies Justin with information- including the whereabouts of a mass grave containing the bodies of Wanza and several hundred other dead test subjects.
 * Enhance Button: A minor example.
 * Exact Eavesdropping: "a marriage of convenience that only produces dead children" - well, you can't blame him for misinterpreting that.
 * Government Conspiracy
 * Her Child, but Not His: teased - in fact Tessa is just nursing another woman's baby.
 * How We Got Here
 * Inelegant Blubbering: Ham accuses himself of this, especially after Tessa's death.
 * Jerkass: Kenny Curtis, head of Three Bees; foul-mouthed, bad-tempered and totally corrupt. Actually has the nerve to call Tessa a bitch- after her death- right to Justin's face.
 * Law of Inverse Fertility
 * Media Scrum: After the letter is read at Justin's funeral.
 * Mistaken for Cheating: played for drama, and made ambiguous to the audience for a long time.
 * No Bisexuals: Justin is convinced that Arnold isn't having an affair with Tessa when he's told he has a boyfriend.
 * Oh, And Tessa Dies
 * Take Up My Sword: If only Justin could figure out what the sword was.
 * The Spymaster: Tim Donohue, though he freely admits that the spy game isn't what it used to be. Nonetheless, after Justin goes looking for answers, Tim remains one of his few allies.
 * Posthumous Character: Tessa, Arnold.
 * Unperson: Wanza and the rest who die under the effects of the experimental drug. Every record of their existence is erased.
 * Your Days Are Numbered: Tim points out that both he and Justin will both be dead by Christmas- Justin due to the hit put out on him, Tim due to cancer. Given that Justin's assassinated some time later and Tim's never seen again after this meeting, it seems he was right.