The Constant Gardener 2005

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: An intriguing thriller for grown ups. Read more

Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune: A sweaty, vital masterpiece that's always one step ahead of its audience. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: Fernando Meirelles, codirector of City of God, stresses old-fashioned storytelling and takes full advantage of his cast, including Danny Huston. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Smart, well-crafted and satisfying. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The Constant Gardener is beautifully structured, an artful mix of forward motion and flashbacks. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: It is a complex story and it's the kind of thing where afterward, you really want to think about this movie and talk about it. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: [Fiennes] gives an Oscar-worthy portrayal, holding us with his quivering half-smile and his wounded eyes. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Fiennes carries Le Carre's spirit with a slow-burning performance that operates on two fronts: As a powerful indictment of third-world abuses by pharmaceutical companies, and as a widower's moving investigation into his shattered relationship. Read more

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic: The Constant Gardener is more like walking past a series of paintings than watching a movie. You can admire the skill that went into work, but it never carries you along. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: If it sends audiences home to log on to the Amnesty International website, terrific -- but that still doesn't make it a very good movie. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: A film that grips us dramatically, intellectually and emotionally. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Rises to a pitch of terror and outrage that leaves one shaken. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: There is, I realize, always the chance that such a serious, it's-good-for-you description makes The Constant Gardener sound like a lemonade glass of medicine. It's not. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: The Constant Gardener manages to fight through its own pretensions to deliver a tale you care about, featuring characters you care for. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: A smart, beautiful piece of storytelling. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: It is comforting to know that, in his tireless commitment to doing Chekhov and Ibsen on the London stage, Fiennes hasn't forgotten how to be a movie star. Read more

Ken Tucker, New York Magazine/Vulture: ... Ralph Fiennes gives one of the year's subtlest, yet most exciting, screen performances ... Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The Constant Gardener is the latest movie to try and take a grown-up look at government trickery and subterfuge, and it's the best since 2001's The Tailor of Panama. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: A slick, fast-paced production with first-rate performances and an emotional punch you won't soon forget. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Fernando Meirelles's excellent adaptation of the novel by John le Carré is likely to linger in your mind and may even trouble your conscience. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: The Constant Gardener is one of the great films of the year. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The Constant Gardener is a movie with something to say, and it speaks its message loudly and with eloquence. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: This is one of the year's best films. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: Meirelles clearly trusts his actors, particularly Fiennes and Weisz: The plot of The Constant Gardener is fairly intricate, but in the end, the story is told mostly in their faces. Read more

David Edelstein, Slate: It might inspire you to haul out those garden spades and get digging. Read more

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Viewers who like real-world issues interwoven with their fiction -- much in the style of author John Le Carre, whose novel is the basis for this movie -- should find plenty to chew on. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Yes, the cast is certainly seductive, and the direction often beguiling, yet ultimately we're left with a distinct sense of abandonment, of a story insufficiently told. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: It harkens back to an era when movies about socially relevant causes came without irony and with the conviction that wide exposure could bring about needed changes. In other words, this isn't your usual multiplex offering. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: A masterwork of suspense, romance and political intrigue. It is a taut and gripping thriller that dazzles the eyes and engages the brain in a way that few recent films have come close to approaching. Read more

Robert Koehler, Variety: Topically urgent and ripe with outrage over the myriad injustices visited upon the African poor. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: For an English-language movie with recognizable stars, its measure of social maturity can be startling, but it's also a bristling demonstration of the formal difficulty of liberal narrative, and of ambitious third-world tourist-cinema. Read more