The Constant Gardener | |
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Directed by | Fernando Meirelles |
Screenplay by | Jeffrey Caine |
Based on | The Constant Gardener by John le Carré |
Produced by | Simon Channing Williams |
Starring | Ralph Fiennes Rachel Weisz Danny Huston Bill Nighy Pete Postlethwaite |
Cinematography | César Charlone |
Edited by | Claire Simpson |
Music by | Alberto Iglesias |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures (Select territories, through United International Pictures)[1] Kinowelt Filmverleih (Germany)[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 129 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom Germany |
Language | English |
Budget | $25 million[1] |
Box office | $82.4 million[1] |
The Constant Gardener is a 2005 drama thriller film[2] directed by Fernando Meirelles. The screenplay by Jeffrey Caine is based on John le Carré's 2001 novel. The story follows Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), a British diplomat in Kenya, as he tries to solve the murder of his wife Tessa (Rachel Weisz), an Amnesty activist, alternating with many flashbacks telling the story of their love.
Filmed on location in Loiyangalani and the slums of Kibera, a section of Nairobi, Kenya. Circumstances in the area affected the cast and crew to the extent that they set up the Constant Gardener Trust in order to provide basic education for these villages. The plot was vaguely based on a real-life case in Kano, Nigeria. The DVD versions were released in the United States on 1 January 2006 and in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2006. Justin's gentle but diligent attention to his plants is a recurring background theme, from which image the film's title is derived. Hubert Koundé, Danny Huston, Bill Nighy, Pete Postlethwaite, and Donald Sumpter co-star. The film was a critical and box office success and earned four Oscar nominations, winning Best Supporting Actress for Weisz.