The Constant Gardener is fiction, but the incidents it portrays are based on real-world events from Africa and Asia. There's no mistaking The Constant Gardener for anything other than a "message movie." Yes, there's also a love story here, but the most powerful aspect of the movie is what it has to say about the way medicines are tested in third world nations without the consideration of negative side effects, and how bad things that happen during these trials are covered up. It's also something of a downer, both it terms of how the main characters are handled and in its cynical attitude toward the pharmaceutical industry. The Constant Gardener is talky and intelligent, and never takes the cheap way out. This is not a thriller designed for the crowd that prefers shoot-outs, chases, and other action-packed incidents. But Jeffrey Caine's screenplay does a solid job of distilling the essence of the novel into something manageable, and Meirelles' kinetic, in-your-face style lends energy and immediacy to the proceedings. A slow-burn thriller simmering with international intrigue, the book would at first seem too long and complex to be crammed into a two-hour motion picture. For his follow-up to City of God, Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles has elected to adapt John Le Carré's The Constant Gardener into movie form.
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