19. Rachel Weisz won an Oscar for her performance in "Constant Gardener" but the real heart of this movie is Ralph Fiennes. He's made a career playing memorable baddies (Goeth in "Schindler's List", Voldemort in "Harry Potter", 'arry in "In Bruges"), but he gives his best and most subtle performance playing the kindhearted Justin. Ralph breaks your heart by playing Justin restrained. In one particularly moving scene, as he identifies the body of his dead wife, he quietly comforts his companion instead of shedding his own tears.
Fiennes' performance reflects the tone of the movie. Fernando Meirelles ("City of God") doesn't let the pharmaceutical conspiracy sub-plot push the movie into melodrama. There is clearly a political message here, but it becomes much more powerful as a backdrop to the story we really care about: Fiennes finding out what happened to his wife. Moreoever, Meirelles allows the secondary characters who move this sub-plot along to develop without defining them as soon as they appear on screen, making the revelation of their true nature infinitely more effective.
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