h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The movie last night was really quite good. We saw The Constant Gardener a film based on the book by John Le Carré. Ralph Finnes plays Justin Quayle, a British diplomat working in Africa and Rachel Weisz is Tessa, his activist wife. The movie is somewhat reminiscent of The English Patient, not just because of the beautiful sweeping shots of the African landscape, but because of the way the story unfolds in a series of flashbacks.

Tessa is raped and murdered in the Kenyan bush at the beginning of the film. At first it seems that she was just the victim of a bandit attack, but Justin begins to investigate the events leading up to his wife’s death and uncovers a global conspiracy. Along the way there are twists and turns galore and plentiful taut dramatic scenes. But there is also a deeply romantic level to the film as we see the passionate beginnings of Justin and Tessa’s relationship and have to rationalise how it slowly became so lifeless.

Both Finnes and Weisz turn in impressive performances and even with a supporting cast including Bill Nighy and Pete Postlethwaite they still manage to shine. But the real star of the movie is Africa itself. The sweeping, majestic shots of the landscape and the vibrant, energetic scenes in the townships of Kenya and Nairobi will stir the hearts of anyone who watches this film.