Review of The Constant Gardener (2005) by Wyatt C — 19 May 2009

Please see a friends 2-cents below my review.

While I might agree with some of the politics behind the movie I was put off by some of the unrealistic manners in which they were brought to the forefront by the movie. For example, Tessa's outburst against the Iraq war after a lecture put me off because, regardless of the validity of the war, or how anyone feels about it, you're not going to become my hero by cutting down a lecturer (who you end up becoming lovers with) in front of a bunch of middle aged men in ties. I know its also fashionable to hate evil corporations but I really don't see pharmaceutical companies hiring people to kill activists that are exposing egregiously unethical drug trial in third world countries.

Edit: I promised Michelle I would add this to my review. Normally I wouldn't pay much attention to a film, but given that the subject matter is related to a field I might one day be working in I suppose it deserves the attention:

"Hey Wyatt --following up on your review: you should read the book "The Constant Gardener" and its afterward. He discusses how he researched the book. The book is much better and the characters are far more developed than in the movie -- I can see how you may have found her outburst unrealistic without more character development.

Le Carre is very respected for writing very realistic spy novels about the cold war. He has moved on to multinationals now.

I think some pharma companies are far more insidious than we would like to believe. Particularly those that operate outside the regulations of US and European laws.

By the way, do you have the same doubts about the scenario played out in Michael Clayton? Money and power can motivate some people to take extraordinary measures.

Just my 2 cents. I loved the book.".