|
OFCS Rating: 83% Fresh |
|
| "The political ambitions of le Carré and ... Meirelles are quite insistent, but the story feels like a story, not like the truth—it's both far-fetched and predictable." |
| Blogcritics.org |
| Alan Dale |
| "a deeply intelligent and profoundly moral examination of a world where the political and the personal cannot ever be kept apart." |
| Eye for Film |
| Anton Bitel |
C- | "A wildly determined piece of cinema, Gardener ultimately takes on way too much and topples, though very admirably." |
| FilmJerk.com |
| Brian Orndorf |
B- | "Meirelles isn't interested in either character or suspense. He's interested in political issues and the scenery." |
| AboutFilm.com |
| Carlo Cavagna |
4/5 | "The Constant Gardener starts out a routine murder mystery, but like all the best mysteries, turn into something quite a bit more significant before it's done with us." |
| ToxicUniverse.com |
| Chris Barsanti |
B+ | "The Constant Gardener is a scathing political thriller filled with terrific ensemble performances directed by one of cinema's most innovative filmmakers." |
| ColeSmithey.com |
| Cole Smithey |
| "Directed with signature smart ferocity by Fernando Meirelles." |
| PopMatters |
| Cynthia Fuchs |
3/4 | "The Constant Gardener" has strengths that aren't apparent until the final credits start rolling." |
| Kansas City Star |
| Dan Lybarger |
3/4 | "Meirelles's technique -- bravura camerawork coupled with crisscross editing -- makes what might have been a straightforward political thriller his own." |
| rec.arts.movies.reviews |
| David N. Butterworth |
B+ | "Solid old-fashioned thriller that is a murder mystery, a love story and a social conscious tale all
rolled into one." |
| Ozus' World Movie Reviews |
| Dennis Schwartz |
| "Human indignation and social intent run throughout, and the heart is in the right place, but that does not spark the creature to life.
" |
| ReelTalk Movie Reviews |
| Donald J. Levit |
1.5/4 | "Though not as preposterously enraged as The Interpreter, the film still chooses to fan the flames of liberal guilt from a safe distance." |
| Slant Magazine |
| Ed Gonzalez |
3/5 | "El Jardinero Fiel es una de esas películas que importan más que nada por su tema (...)" |
| Uruguay Total |
| Enrique Buchichio |
B+ | "The Constant Gardener can boast of prime cinematography, an engaging and multi-layered storyline, and a handsome, controlled performance by Ralph Fiennes." |
| EricDSnider.com |
| Eric D. Snider |
3/4 | "Places us within the mindset of love lost which then provides us the motives to direct our outrage at the pencil pushers who are responsible." |
| eFilmCritic.com |
| Erik Childress |
3/4 | "A ratos lenta y demasiado contemplativa, pero no en perjuicio significativo del resultado cinematográfico final." |
| Doncinema.com |
| Flavio J. Arosemena |
3.5/4 | "...[an] astoundingly gripping conspiracy thriller...there is an unblinking complexity about the socio-political climate that smothers this fetching African campus" |
| Movie Eye |
| Frank Ochieng |
C+ | "Not only preserves the book's flaws but has added to them...the combination of drama and soap box proves an uneasy, and ultimately unsuccessful, one." |
| One Guy's Opinion |
| Frank Swietek |
5/5 | "A gripping thriller that exposes the shadowy parameters of a war against the poor and the powerless that is animated by corporate greed and political amorality." |
| Spirituality and Practice |
| Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat |
3/4 | "The Constant Gardener is a movie with something to say, and it speaks its message loudly and with eloquence." |
| ReelViews |
| James Berardinelli |
3/4 | "A somber, angry, cynical, slow burn of a political potboiler that is also, against all odds, an effectively moving love story." |
| Q Network Film Desk |
| James Kendrick |
5/5 | "Mixing love and loss with conspiracy and commerce, The Constant Gardener is in the running to be one of 2005's best films." |
| Netflix |
| James Rocchi |
'3.5/4' | "Rich, eloquent and purposeful." |
| Palo Alto Weekly |
| Jeanne Aufmuth |
7/10 | "Even if it doesn't run entirely smoothly, The Constant Gardener carries a nobility in its purpose that's worthy of attention." |
| Window to the Movies |
| Jeffrey Chen |
| "The Constant Gardener is a rare murder mystery in which the victim is more than a body and the mystery is less who killed her than who she was when she was alive." |
| Pajiba |
| Jeremy C. Fox |
5/10 | "I don’t remember being thrilled even once." |
| JoBlo's Movie Emporium |
| JoBlo |
| "The Constant Gardener unearths uncomfortable truths which require the casual viewer to abandon the safety of their theater seat." |
| Light Views |
| John Larsen |
3.5/4 | "Beyond the superb and elegant performances depicting a complex and real relationship between a husband and wife, Gardener stands out because its backdrop is Africa." |
| Bangitout.com |
| Jordan Hiller |
4.5/5 | "click to read full review [Greek]" |
| Movies for the Masses |
| Joseph Proimakis |
4.5/5 | "It's the artiest conspiracy theory movie in a while, not too pulpy or too auteurish, but just right." |
| Cinerina |
| Karina Montgomery |
'2/5' | "The outcome seems rushed and predestined, rather than exposed." |
| Film-Forward.com |
| Kent Turner |
3.5/4 | "An unusual love story that deals with complex issues, both personal and socio-political." |
| Montreal Film Journal |
| Kevin N. Laforest |
A- | "City of God director Fernando Meirelles invests Le Carré's political thriller with a moving story of love lost, then most profoundly found." |
| Reeling Reviews |
| Laura Clifford |
| "Admirably composed, even if it ultimately feels a bit of a shame that it all has to come down to good guys and bad guys." |
| Not Coming to a Theater Near You |
| Leo Goldsmith |
B+ | "A brisk, galvanizing journey through the political thicket in Africa, (it) positions Meirelles as a leading director of electrically charged dramas with social consciences.
" |
| Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema |
| Mark Pfeiffer |
9/10 | "THE CONSTANT GARDENER packs a real wallop in its study of the interconnections of global business, international medicine, and government. A film that has solid and relevant content, a good romance, and is still a good story is very rare. This is one of t" |
| rec.arts.movies.reviews |
| Mark R. Leeper |
| "Like The Insider, from a few years back, Gardener is a thriller of the conscience..." |
| Flick Filosopher |
| MaryAnn Johanson |
3.5/4 | "This is one of those rare movies that feels genuinely alive; it’s about something substantial and there wasn’t a moment when I wasn’t involved." |
| Aisle Seat |
| Mike McGranaghan |
1.5/5 | "Unbalanced... disingenuous... cares no more about Africa than do the story’s evil villains at a make-believe drug company." |
| Filmcritic.com |
| Nick Schager |
5/5 | "Um dos melhores filmes do ano, O Jardineiro Fiel é, também, um dos mais importantes." |
| Cinema em Cena |
| Pablo Villaca |
3.5/5 | "Meirelles' handling and the performances of Fiennes, Weisz, and Postelthwaite keep it from being little more than a propaganda exercise." |
| Film Threat |
| Pete Vonder Haar |
5/5 | "One of the most gripping and powerfully moving thrillers in memory; absolutely everything about this film works." |
| Shadows on the Wall |
| Rich Cline |
3/5 | "What it adds up to is a good yarn that uses real political concerns to make itself look beefier than the average Hollywood thriller." |
| eFilmCritic.com |
| Rob Gonsalves |
A | "It takes the guise of a political thriller about a murderous international conspiracy, but it is really a love story." |
| Laramie Movie Scope |
| Robert Roten |
B+ | "[Rachel Weisz] gives what is easily her best performance to date" |
| Reeling Reviews |
| Robin Clifford |
8/10 | "People murdered in Africa, a plague on the way and large corporations behaving badly. Tea at the British embassy, anyone?" |
| Monsters and Critics |
| Ron Wilkinson |
3.5/5 | "Finding love in the world's deadliest laboratory" |
| JWR |
| S. James Wegg |
| " Meirelles clearly trusts his actors, particularly Fiennes and Weisz: The plot of The Constant Gardener is fairly intricate, but in the end, the story is told mostly in their faces." |
| Salon.com |
| Stephanie Zacharek |
9/10 | "Timely and trenchant, it's a suspenseful, intelligent, provacative thriller, relentlessly delving into resonant, relevant issues." |
| Modamag.com |
| Susan Granger |
2/4 | "Romantic, sure, and it would have been without sinking the Titanic." |
| Film Freak Central |
| Walter Chaw |
|
OFCS Rating: 83% Fresh |
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