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There was Julia Roberts in "Erin Brockovich", John Travolta in "A Civil Action", Russel Crowe for "The Insider" and Matt Damon with "The Rainmaker". And now, starring Ralph Fiennes, we have The Constant Gardener. It is an "artistic" re-telling of the new modern parable: evil businesses doing wicked things to the poor for the sake of profits. In this case, at least, it's British companies rather than American companies being evil and Africans rather than blue-collars die. And anything always sounds smarter when said with an English accent.
The story is told lethargically, lacking engaging drama or characters until about the mid-way point. The story then becomes bogged down in excessively detailed intrigues rather than smartly wrapping up once the heart of the story is sufficiently revealed.
The Constant Gardender is beautifuly filmed and wonderfully acted. But these do not compensate for a dull, over-long telling of a fairly standard story.
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