The Quiet American Review

Hopes of quality were always assured when a triple bill of Brendan Fraser, Michael Caine and director Philip Noyce were on the cards. A pair of actors renowned for quality, before and after this piece, saddled with a director whose thrilling work on Patriot Games could and should have steered The Quiet American well. It is unfortunate, taxing and a genuine shame that much of The Quiet American, for all its throes of war and commentaries on the old and new generations of wartime, is somewhat forgotten. Adapting the late Graham Greene’s most popular work of the same name, it is clever and interesting to see just which bits are kept in and which moments of French colonialism and the loosening grip it had on Vietnam are showcased in this love triangle.

Caine, appearing gaunt, fearful and sweat-riddled, marks a grand turn of form as he finds himself still getting to grips with that post-leading man charm, reworked here to the latter stages of a career that grew and grew in quality. His portrayal of Thomas Fowler is tender and well-kept in that first-person narration style that graced the book too. “I do not get involved,” Fowler’s introductory spiel to Alden Pyle (Fraser) is. It is the clear difference between reporter and correspondent, the smaller details of that variety, that mark such a brilliant turn for the performances. Differences between Caine and Fraser are struck up nicely, through conversational tone and that charming, early 2000s intensity that spreads well across the screen.

Greene’s adaptation here focuses more on the culture, restaurants and people of Vietnam than it does on the conflict on the go. This is more to reangle The Quiet American as a charming, odd piece of a love triangle than anything that could muster up the scope to identify the grand moments of conflict. There is the sly move Noyce’s work makes though, in the articulation of culture and how dangerous it is to those hoping for passion. Fraser has a great command of that, a performance that suits him well and showcases the mysteries of drugs, delusion and all the forms of jealousy that come from coveting someone uncontrollable. What is controllable though is how well-managed Caine and Fraser present the text of Greene, an acceptable entry point that nails its conventions and messages through extremely important, well-versed performances from Do Thi Hai Yen and Tzi Ma.

It is not that easy to remain uninvolved, Fraser’s character notes the war and the means of how he gets to the action. He and Caine have some excellent chemistry, it pours over the horrors of war that they are intermittently, intensely involved in. Tense notions come out unexpectedly, with little build up beyond the knowing silence between them and their obsessive need to possess their love interest. Do Thi Hai Yen, then, plays the part well and muscles her way through some scenes and fares better than Caine or Fraser at times, especially during the chilling encounters and the tense parts that all depend on her. The Quiet American has good cause for that intensity, the long-term warring factions of love, using the real terrors of war as a backdrop. Fraser’s intensity, Caine’s ever-stoic portrayal that often gives way to outbursts, all of it is there and in entertaining doses throughout this Noyce feature.