ViewGuide

Created Mar 09, 2011 12:14PM PST • Edited Mar 09, 2011 12:14PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Very Good 3.5

   A smart and intricate thriller about a British Attaché to Africa, who searches for his wife’s killer. With a palpable intensity that slowly grows over the film, Ralph Fiennes portrays Justin Quayle, painstakingly searching for his the killer of Tessa, his wife (Rachel Weisz). Tessa was a lawyer and activist who became involved in stopping the testing of medicinal vaccinations on poor residents.

   The film, based on a novel by John Le Carre, is told in a series of flashbacks and layers that ultimately leads Quayle to the truth. Filmed on location in Africa, the scenery and people in the film are as engrossing as the story itself.

   Fiennes does a splendid job of portraying the angst and drive of a passionate husband, trying to find the truth. With each level of intrigue exposed, we can see the strain it takes on him.

   Weisz, who won and Academy award for her performance, gives an equally compelling performance, balancing the desire to create effective social change with a steadfast determination to champion her cause. The movie is a damning indictment of major pharmaceutical companies and the practice of greed driven research.

   Watched on Netflix streaming.

4. Acting

   Very Good 3.5

5. Male Stars Very Good 3.5

   Fiennes is wonderful as the husband searching for the truth, and running into roadblocks at each turn. His facial expressions convey the multitude of emotional responses demanded by the script.

6. Female Stars Very Good 3.5

   Weisz gives a strong and award deserving perfomance.

7. Female Costars Good 3.0

8. Male Costars Good 3.0

   Danny Huston gives a memorable performance as Sandy, a trusted family friend.

10. Film

    Very Good 3.5

11. Direction Great 4.0

    Very well done, with a particular emphasis on immersion into Africa, versus settiling for a set.

12. Play OK 2.5

    My only concern for the film was the somewhat erratic tempo is sometimes took.

13. Music Great 4.0

14. Visuals Great 4.0

    Beautiful countryside, mixed with shoking images of the poor lining up for supplies and medicine.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 1.9

17. Sex Titillating 2.1

    Nudity and sex are present

18. Violence Fierce 2.3

    Corpses are shownin a morgue, as are bodies being flung onto a truck.

19. Rudeness Polite 1.4

21. Reality

    Glib 1.2

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.6

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0