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This smart, adult thriller from CITY OF GOD director Fernando Meirelles is surprising in many ways for what it does and doesn’t do.

Based on the bestselling John Le Carré novel, the story follows the relationship of mild-mannered British diplomat Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes, THE ENGLISH PATIENT) and 24-year-old radical Tessa (Rachel Weisz, THE SHAPE OF THINGS). The central mystery of the film is who and why was Tessa killed, which is revealed early in the film at which we flashback to Justin and Tessa’s strangely brief courtship and the events that lead up to Tessa’s murder.

Rumors abound regarding Tessa’s relationship with black doctor Arnold Bluhm (Hubert Koundé, HOW I KILLED MY FATHER) and even Justin’s boss Sandy Woodrow (Danny Huston, SILVER CITY). It seemed that Tessa is up against a major pharmaceutical company that may be killing Africans. The mystery of Tessa’s death wasn’t much of a mystery to me, but for Justin he must find out for himself the details.

What makes the film so good is the secrets that are uncovered about Tessa’s feelings for Justin. Their relationship is the heart of the film. The film also serves as an indictment of not just drug firms, but how all the world treats Africa as the world’s garbage dump. The corruption there is mind-boggling, but the West doesn’t help the situation at all.

Meirelles constructs the story more as a drama than a thriller. His use of cliché thriller red herrings is the low point of the film. I think they could have dealt more with Justin’s search for knowledge as an inherent tension device instead of adding in trumped up scares. The flashback sequences give away too much and kind of deflates the air out of the mystery.

Nonetheless, the film is too smart and deep to be ruined by this problem. Learning more about the characters becomes a far more interesting mystery than the murder. We care about them so we want the ones responsible to be held accountable. Meirelles films Africa with a beautiful rustic hue that enhances the beauty as well as the grittiness of the setting.

All the performances are subtle and serve the narrative well. Many critics are talking Oscar already for Fiennes and Weisz, but I’m unsure the Academy will remember such subtle work come December. Also giving key performances in the film are Bill Nighy (LOVE ACTUALLY) as Justin’s superior Sir Bernard Pellegrin and Pete Postlethwaite (IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER) as the former drug company doctor Marcus Lorbeer. Even if the thrills of the film aren’t the edge of your seat kind, the film has more riches than the simple roller coaster ride — it has a heart.