Tessa Quayle (Rachel Weisz) is dead. In a remote area of Northern Kenya her lifeless body has been found and her jeep destroyed. There are no real clues. There are no real suspects. This is Africa. Things like this unfortunately happen.

Her husband, career diplomat Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), is supposed to leave the matter alone. And why wouldn’t he? The steady politico doesn’t make waves, doesn’t take chances and appears to be perfectly happy living out in his mid-level position for the rest of his days. The only chance this man ever takes is what brand of fertilizer to use upon his flower beds. If anything, the other senior Brits working with him, most notably good friend Sandy Woodrow (Danny Huston) and superior officer Sir Bernard Pellegrin (Bill Nighy), are sure they have nothing to worry about, the milquetoast official sure to do nothing.

They couldn’t be more wrong. Justin is devastated by what has happened to his wife and embarks upon a mission to discover who killed her and why. Slowly, as the coils of conspiracy unravel he becomes obsessed with finishing what Tessa started, even if that means shaming the British diplomatic core, bringing down a major pharmaceutical company and costing his own life. His wife deserves justice, and Justin loved – loves – Tessa more than anyone, even himself, can possibly realize.

Based on the internationally acclaimed best seller by John Le Carré, “The Constant Gardner” is one of the year’s most brazenly delicate and entertainingly intelligent thrillers. It’s also one of 2005’s best films, and to say that about a movie opening at the tail end of August just before Labor Day is absolutely unheard of. But that’s the truth of it, this suspense-filled romance one for the time capsule, so good Le Carré is probably sitting at home applauding for the first time since Alec Guiness brought George Smiley to life in “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.” As a follow up to the remarkable “City of God,” director Fernando Meirelles avoids the sophomore slump crafting a picture sure to be remembered come Oscar season next February.

What’s most astonishing is how deep the rivers run here. The conspiracy is inspired and plausible, the love story builds with genuine emotion, the commentary is unabashedly political without ever accusingly taking sides and drama is stunningly palpable. The thing, I don’t want to try and talk too much about it. The movie begins with Tessa’s death but that’s not where things start. It finishes with the murder-suicide of a main character but that’s not where things end. In between there is the story of Africa, the tale of poverty so severe that individuals allow themselves to be turned into human guinea pigs just in order to survive. There is a lot going on, more than in just about any other movie this year, and yet even at 128 minutes the time seems to fly by, Meirelles expertly keeping me sitting on the very edge of my seat.

The acting is uniformly excellent all around. This is the best Weisz has ever been and now, with a good four years separating her from the last “Mummy” adventure, I finally feel I have to give the woman her due and admit how good an actress she really is. She’s matched by the cadre of character actors surrounding her, Huston, Nighy and Pete Postlethwaite all turning in finally nuanced portrayals that speak volumes, sometimes without even saying a word. I was also extremely impressed with actor Hubert Koundé, making an indelible mark in only the briefest of scenes and showcasing a powerful range that made me shudder.

It is Fiennes, however, who really soars here. This is one of the top two or three performances I’ve seen all year. Fiennes does more with silence than almost any actor I’ve ever seen. An early scene where he learns of his wife’s death is stunning, the emotions passing through him as he slowly waters the plants in his office as multifaceted and profound as any I could ever hope to see. But Fiennes does this throughout “The Constant Gardener,” anchoring the picture in his tightly controlled fists propelling viewers onward with a ceaseless fury born of love and anger. When all was finally said and done, when things started to make their way to a conclusion, it is that love, Justin’s love for Tessa and vice/versa, that brings things all the way home leaving me feeling privileged to have witnessed the journey.

There are some minor quibbles here and there. Jeffrey Caine’s screenplay, while solid, doesn’t always hold together using too many spy film clichés and shortcuts to get Justin from here to there. I’m also not sure I completely bought the motivations of one character, his reasons for sabotaging Tessa and making the mistakes that would lead to her death not really clear enough to make them believably. But no matter, these are small problems when stood against the magnificence of the rest. Meirelles, much like he did with his Academy Award-nominated work with “City of God,” handles the multiple threads of the storyline exquisitely, deftly moving backwards and forwards without ever losing sight of the big picture or of the love story at the film’s center. Reuniting with fellow Oscar-nominee Claire Simpson, the duo seamlessly keeps the picture jumping and palpitating as if it had a life of its own, an internal heartbeat that only Justin seems to be able to follow.

Added to the performances, Alberto Iglesias simmering score and César Charlone dazzling cinematography there is nothing about “The Constant Gardner” that is not exemplary. This is a breathtaking picture, a movie to stand up and cheer, and for entertainment finding release during the downbeat dog days of a disappointing summer this is one going to be remembered long past the time when fair like “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “The Cave” and “Four Brothers” have been thankfully forgotten.

Film Rating: êêê1/2  (out of 4)