Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Hubert Kounde
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Category: IIB
You could never accuse Ralph Fiennes of being a lock-and-load action hero. His aristocratic face often says more looking away from the camera than staring it down. That's why his role in The Constant Gardener is ideal for him.
As Justin Quayle, he's a British diplomat in Africa whose wife is killed researching unscrupulous goings-on in the shanty towns of Kenya. Rewind to when Quayle is just another Blair apologist in the British Commission. Less a stiff upper-lip suit than an ineffectual Walter Mittyesque paper-pusher, his life gains some vibrancy when he meets social activist Tessa (Rachel Weisz). A political divide doesn't stop the two from becoming bedfellows and marrying.
In Africa, all's well for the married couple, even if there are hints of Tessa's infidelity, as well as her insistence on making a scene with VIP delegates with whom she disagrees on policy and practice. Quayle, on the other hand, isn't the type to stir trouble. Even after Tessa's death, he's almost afraid to grieve. Identifying her body in a filthy morgue, he can't even muster revulsion at the setting.