The Constant Gardener

Fernando Meirelles, 2005 (8.4*)
Ralph Feinnes investigates the brutal murder of his activist wife, Rachel Weisz, in Kenya. Told in flashbacks, he uncovers much more than he originally intended in this crime-espionage thriller from the novel by John Le Carre. Not his typical cold war intelligence fare, this is about corporatations involved in distributing medical supplies in Africa. This is more on the intellectual side, rather than action, and it's even more engrossing and to the point than most of his novels made into films.

Rachel Weisz won an Oscar® and Golden Globe and four other awards for supporting actress. Directed by brilliant Brazilian director Fernando Mierelles (City of God), who proves that he can direct films in English as well as his native Portuguese. Ralph Feinnes also won two acting awards for his performance, which I found to be a little spineless for my comfort.

Overall, Gardener won 21 awards out of 43 nominations