- Film Review
- Reviewed By Sue Robinson
-
4 out of 5
City of God director Fernando Meirelles brings his distinctive visual style to this moving political thriller, based on the novel by John le Carré. Ralph Fiennes plays Justin Quayle, a Foreign Office diplomat in Kenya, whose activist wife Tessa (a compelling Rachel Weisz, winner of the film's only Oscar) is found murdered. The story is then played out in a series of flashbacks, as Justin - a normally passive man who puts more effort into nurturing his plants than his marriage - tries to understand his wife's motives and the events that led to her death. Justin's gardening works well as a powerful metaphor for the apathy of the rich West to the world's poor, as Meirelles examines life in some of Kenya's most impoverished communities. Drug company profiteering, conspiracy and murder are at the heart of this film, but it's also a touching love story that will break your heart.
Plot Summary
Political thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, based on the novel by John le Carré. British diplomat Justin Quayle begins a new posting in Kenya accompanied by his spirited young wife Tessa, an outspoken critic of poverty. When Tessa is brutally murdered, her normally unassuming husband begins to ruffle a few feathers as he tries to discover who was responsible for her killing.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Justin Quayle
- Ralph Fiennes
- Tessa Quayle
- Rachel Weisz
- Sandy Woodrow
- Danny Huston
- Sir Bernard Pellegrin
- Bill Nighy
- Lorbeer
- Pete Postlethwaite
- Arthur Hammond
- Richard McCabe
- Tim Donohue
- Donald Sumpter
- Gloria Woodrow
- Juliet Aubrey
- Arnold Bluhm
- Hubert Koundé
- Ghita Pearson
- Archie Panjabi
Crew
- Director
- Fernando Meirelles
- Share this episode
-