There are only a handful of directors in today's world of cinema that can truly be heralded as a "visionary". Certainly the term has been diluted to a description of any filmmaker who has an eye for unmotivated "cool shots". In the case of Fernando Meirelles, it seems that the visionary glove fits like an O.J. Simpson Isotoner. Meirelles' latest film the The Constant Gardener is a prime example of a film that is both dense in plot and visual esthetics.

Justin and Tessa Quayle live in Kenya, He (Ralph Fiennes) is an overly passive English Diplomat, she, (Rachel Weisz) is an overly passionate activist and humanitarian. Minutes into the film we find out that Tessa has been brutally murdered, and all eyes point toward her traveling partner and alleged lover Arnold. In an attempt to discover the murky details his wife's death, Justin embarks on a dangerous journey that awakens him to the apparent evils by his own statesmen and pharmaceutical companies.

The film opens with a silhouette of the husband and wife seeing each other for the last time, a precursor to the layers of Tessa's secrets that essentially drive the plot. From there, Meirelles and academy award winning editor (Platoon) use flashbacks and non-linear sequencing as the main devices of storytelling. Cesar Charlone shot the Cinematography; he also worked on Meirelles' previous compelling film, City of God. Like City of God, Gardener is a very gritty and harsh depiction of a world untouched by modern society.

The shooting primarily takes place in Kenya and Meirelles fills the picture with epic aerial views of the exotic African Landscape.

Apart from landscape shots, most of the footage used during the village scenes are products of hand-held cameras. The dynamic cinematography is reminiscent of Steven Soderbergh's Traffic.

Scenes in Quayle's native Britain are far more polished and dependent upon neutral colors, whereas scenes in Africa are primally overexposed, Reds and Earth tones dominate the color scheme, humanizing the African Village. The result is a look that is both engaging and realistic.

Gardener did, however, have some shortcomings, mainly being the tendency to overextend itself. Parts of the film seemed to fail to get to the point, making the audience restless in their seats. The hand-held sequences, a positive feature initially, began to feel tedious and overwhelming as the story moved on. It did seem as though the film would require a patient and attentive audience, possibly Gardener would be more widely accepted if perhaps the artistic reins had been held back slightly.

But, ultimately, The Constant Gardener was an ambitious and satisfying film, filled with solid performances, an inquisitive, thought provoking premise, and exceptional visuals. Marking Fernando Meirelles as a director whose garden seems to be filling with bold blossoming byproducts.
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