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THE QUIET AMERICAN Send This Review to a Friend
If Michael Caine doesn't at least win an Oscar nomination for "The Quiet American," there is no justice in Hollywood. Caine's long carrer is filled with illustrious performances, even in pictures unworthy of his talent, but now, at 69, he's better than ever as he triumphs in a part that demands all that has made him such a good actor.
"The Quiet American" adapted from Graham Greene's novel, has a screenplay by Robert Schenkkan and Christopher Hampton and has been directed by Director Phillip Noyce, who has made another mark this season with his riveting "Rabbit-Proof Fence." You may have heard of the controversy surrounding the film, the release of which was to have been held up until later because of concerns that it might be taken as anti-American in the light of the wave of patriotism and fight against terror since 9/11.
Seeing the film as anti-American is nonsense. It is, however, decidedly against the American attempt to replace the colonial French in 1952 Saigon in the face of Vietnamese resistance and we all know where that mistaken U.S. policy led. If anything, the film assumes extra importance today in pointing to the need to be alert to actions that can once again get America into deep trouble.
Caine plays the role of British journalist Thomas Fowler, who is living in Saigon and, although married to a wife in London whom he would like to divorce if she'd only agree, is deeply in love with a young Vietnamese woman named Phuong (played by the beautiful Hai Yen), who has worked as a dance hostess. It's more than a matter of love for Fowler. He would be utterly crushed if he lost her. The huge age difference doesn't bother Phuong. What troubles her is his inability to marry her and take her to London when he returns.
At the outset we learn of the mysterious murder of an American aide officer found dead in the Saigon River, and a flashback begins to fill us in on what happened. The young American is Alden Pyle, played earnestly by Brendan Fraser. When he meets Phuong, he flips for her and in a scene that isn't altogether believable, he proposes to her right in front of Fowler. Pyle wants to marry her and take her to the United States, which is tempting to her and to her sister who wants a better life for her than being the mistress of a married man.
This competition for Phuong is scary for Fowler, who attempts to maintain his hold over her, and Caine masterly shows his fear combined with the confidence of a man of worldly experience and the lurking pain that could overtake him if he lost. But the plot is much more complicated. Fowler is beginning to have suspicions that Pyle has a secret mission, and the journalist is also becoming increasingly disgusted with the violence and terrorism he sees as the Vietnamese battle to free their country and the French desperately try to hold on. As a newsman, he is getting bylines reporting on events. As a man he is trying to keep his personal life together. He and Pyle become uneasy acquaintances, and as events unfold, Fowler gets an unexpected opportunity to protect his turf while at the same time acting against the immorality he sees.
Noyce, his screenwriters and his production crew build an exotic but perilous atmosphere into which the personal stories fit, and a feeling of background reality is communicated thanks to the convincing location work. Adapting a Greene novel is a tough job because of the author's nuances and intricacies. But however viewers may feel about the relationship to the book, the film stands tall on its own merits and unfolds intelligently with considerable suspense. It is another of 2002's best films, and apart from every other plus, the performance by Caine should not be missed. A Miramax release.
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