Author: Labute, Neil

Format: NTSC

Release Date: 03-03-2009

Details: Amazon.ca The Constant GardenerThe Constant Gardener is the kind of thriller that hasn't been seen since the 1970s: smart, politically complex, cinematically adventurous, genuinely thrilling and even heartbreaking. Mild diplomat Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes, The English Patient, Schindler's List) has a loose cannon of a wife named Tessa (Rachel Weisz, The Shape of Things, The Mummy), who's digging into the dirty doings of a major pharmaceutical company in Kenya. Her brutal murder forces Justin to continue her investigation down some deadly avenues. This simple plot description doesn't capture the rich texture and slippery, sinuous movement of The Constant Gardener, superbly directed by Fernando Meirelles (Oscar-nominated for his first film, City of God). Shifting back and forth in time, the movie skillfully captures the engaging romance between Justin and Tessa (Fiennes shows considerably more chemistry with Weisz than he had with Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan) and builds a vivid, gripping, and all-too-justified paranoia. And on top of it all, the movie is beautiful, due to both its incredible shots of the African landscape (which at times is haunting and unearthly) and the gorgeous cinematography. Featuring an all-around excellent cast, including Bill Nighy (Love Actually), Pete Postlethwaite (In the Name of the Father), and Danny Huston (Silver City). --Bret Fetzer The Shape of ThingsControversial director Neil LaBute tweaks our culture's moral compass in his dark comedy The Shape of Things. Dorky museum guard Adam (indie heartthrob Paul Rudd, made to look as dweebish as possible) meets student Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) as she's preparing to deface a classical statue; instead of stopping her, he musters up the courage to ask her out. But soon he finds himself so completely in her thrall that he willingly succumbs to her every want--and she wants him to change his hair, his clothes, his face, even his friends (Frederick Weller and Gretchen Mol). In In the Company of Men, LaBute presented two men cruelly experimenting with a deaf woman's affections; The Shape of Things proposes that women can be just as monstrous. Though LaBute could stand to delve more deeply, this well-acted and cunningly written film will provoke conversation afterwards--and not many movies nowadays can do that. --Bret Fetzer

UPC: 065935825319

EAN: 0065935825319

Languages: English

Binding: DVD

Item Condition: UsedVeryGood