Great romantic thrill ride that is made even more special by the performances of Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes, who both give this adaptation of the John Le Carre book a real sense of beauty, dignity and grace with their on target performances. Weisz is perfection as Tessa Qualye, a civil rights activist who is murdered for trying to bring awareness of their illegal practices on the poor natives of an African village. Weisz gives her character a self-righteous drive that is made poignant by her determination and sheer will and she also makes her character human, not a stereotype, which makes her performance the more real. Ralph Finnes plays her grieving husband Justin, who takes up her cause and begins to lean of how wonderful his wife really was and what he missed during the time she was alive. His haunted performance is in my opinion his best ever and is the driving point of this haunting odyssey of justice, lost and self sacrifice. Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes both deserve Oscar nominations for their superb performances and Fernando Meirelles deserves one as well for his superb direction that puts you smack in the middle of the story that is unfolding right in front of you.
Hands down, the best film of the year so far.
Hands down, the best film of the year so far.