PowerPoint Presentation

The Constant Gardener Textual Analysis

The Constant Gardener The Constant Gardener is a spy thriller filmed in 2005, based on the novel written by John le Carr, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, directed by Fernando Meirelles.The film starts with the murder of activist Tessa Quayle in Kenya, and her companion on the same trip (Doctor Bluhm) he appears to have fled the scene, leaving the murder to look like a crime of passion. The members of the British High Commission in Africa assume that the matter will be left with them, however Tessa's husband, and colleague of the High Commission, Justin Quayle has different ideas and insists on finding out what happened to his wife.He carries out his own investigation to uncover the corruption of the British High Commission, and exposing the drugs company with their tests on the African people which is potentially causing deaths. The attempts to find his wifes killers takes him on a long quest of discovery and becomes so intense, the exploitation of the government leads him to his own downfall.

Building TensionTension is created in one of the first few scenes when we see Sandy informing Justin that it is believed Tessa has been in a fatal accident and one of the bodies they have found is believed to be hers. - The lighting is very dark were Sandy is standing, however it is much lighter were Justin is standing, therefore this makes Justin look more innocent than Sandy, and it makes Justin look unaware of the bad news that will shortly follow. - The dark lighting on Sandy reflects the dark mood that is to follow as he is the bearer of bad news.

There is also the use of a drum beat sound which creates tension as you can tell something bad is going to happen and if the audience have already guessed that Tessa is dead, then the music builds up the feeling that there is going to be emotions to follow when Justin is informed.To follow there is also a close up shot of Justin crushing a part of one of his plants that he happens to have in his office which shows his anger, and the feeling that a big part of his life has just been crushed in an instant.

Sound and Camera Angles

Many of the scenes when Tessa is walking through the African houses, the music and surroundings such as the train become quite loud to show the chaos and cramped conditions around them, the camera shots also change quite quickly, and some shots include point of view shots, This makes the audience feel included and that they are almost walking through with Tessa.

There is tense music when Tessa finds out about the drugs company and that they are testing the new 'Dypraxa' drug. The director wanted the audience to listen closely to this as this is where Tessa and the film starts giving away clues as to what the government are up to.

In the film the director likes to keep the audience guessing, and small clues are often dropped in the film as they watch through. When Tessa has given birth it doesnt initially show that Tessa and Justins baby had died. Instead we see Tessa holding an African baby which makes the audience question at first whether the relationship between her and Arnold was just more than friendship, and it also takes the character Sandy by surprise.

Also in this scene the tense music is played again when Tessa tells Sandy that she thinks the government is up to something and she needs his help to uncover it, this is also followed by close up shots of Tessa and Sandys faces as it shows Tessa worry in case other can hear what she is saying. There is also the fear that Justin may come back into the room from bringing her some water and discover what she has been investigating with Arnold.Plotline Clues

Plotline Clues

Justin then returns home to discover that people have been through Tessa's belongings, which makes Justin suspicious that they were looking for something so he goes to check what has been taken. - the lighting is very dark in the room which makes the audience feel tense as they are possibly expecting something to happen to Justin as he enters the room.

An example of one of the key elements to the film is when Justin discovers that Tessa had not been unfaithful to him with Arnold, which then increases his curiosity and anger even more as now he knows that the murder could not possibly have been done by Arnold, nor that the journey was a romantic getaway for the two. It also opens many questions as to what actually happened on the day of her murder, and it also opens more opportunities for Justin to find the truth as now there is no one else to blame for her murder.

Camera Angles

When Justin travels to Berlin, the camera angles shot seem to be quite odd, and they move really quickly. As he seems to be getting himself into more trouble from the KDH drug company and the Three Bees Corporation, it seems the camera angles are showing his mental condition may be deteriorating as they are changing so quickly it is difficult to follow and this could reflect on how Justin is feeling.The quick camera angles are also followed again by the drum beat music which again could show that he is going into further danger the closer he gets to Berlin. In Berlin it always feels like there is always someone watching him as he travels through to find a source of information that can help him, and when he is talking to one of Tessa's contacts it seems like someone is listening to their conversations, which is then proved by the two men attacking Justin in his hotel room.

Conclusion

To conclude 'The Constant Gardener' is a good spy thriller film as it keeps the audience guessing throughout the film, and it also drops slight clues throughout the film as to what the British government is up to, making the audience want to watch to find out more. We used this thriller to help us see how tension is created effectively, and we also like the way that the lighting in different scenes reflect the particular mood that the director wants to create which is one of the conventions that we wanted to use in our thriller which is why we analysed this particular film.