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QUIET AMERICAN Rating:  Director: Phillip Noyce Producers: Staffan Ahrenberg, William Horberg Writers: Christopher Hampton, Robert Schenkkan, based on the book by Graham Greene Director of Photography: Christopher Doyle Cast: Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, Do Thi Hai Yen, Rade Serbedgia Visit the IMDB page for full cast and crew |
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Review by: Warren
Curry
11/21/02
Best known for making high-budget/high profile fare like Patriot Games and Clear And Present Danger, Australian director Phillip Noyce has taken an interesting detour from the Hollywood spotlight to helm two considerably smaller releases, Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Quiet American, which are set to be released within one week of each other. In The Quiet American, based on the novel by Graham Greene, Noyce shows that he is quite capable of framing a personal story within a much bigger context, allowing us to connect with the characters and also understand the larger elements that the film explores. Noyce's filmmaking professionalism is quite evident, but the movie's formulaic approach doesn't quite make the resounding impact that is so clearly the film's goal.
Michael Caine (in what some are heralding as a career performance) plays British journalist Thomas Fowler, a man who lives an under-the-radar existence in 1950's Vietnam. Separated (not yet divorced though) from a wife in his homeland, Fowler has a young Vietnamese girlfriend, Phuong, (Do Thi Hai Yen), who he promises to marry but can't without his wife's blessing to begin divorce proceedings.
Entering their lives is an American man named Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), who has traveled to the country to help with a medical unit. Pyle comes across as a typically naive, but goodhearted foreigner -- a man who truly believes he can be of help in the war torn land (at this time the native Communists were fighting the French colonial powers with a revolutionary third force also ready to take shape). Fowler befriends the man, although Pyle creates one distinct problem for him: he falls in love with Phuong. Fowler still does his best to treat Pyle respectably, but a closer look into his romantic rival's actions prove that this person may not be such a quiet American after all.
Many a paragraph has been penned about the shelving of this film in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11. I have never heard a definitive story about this issue so I won't dredge up any more rumors. The fact of the matter is that any controversy surrounding The Quiet American has been blown way out of proportion because this film does not aim to beat you over the head with its politics. In his telling of Green's tale, Noyce has fashioned a story that is diverse and is no more about the foundations for America's involvement in Vietnam than it is about one lost man's quest to find himself. Whether or not this film contains an anti-American slant is up to the individual viewer's interpretation and is really of no consequence.
I must be missing the boat about Caine's performance; yes, it's very solid but I've seen more impressive ones this year. Fraser has also received his fair share of accolades and, again, while his work is commendable, I don't find it to be particularly memorable. The highlight of this film, in my opinion, is the evocative cinematography of Christopher Doyle (a frequent Wong Kar-wai collaborator). The stifling atmosphere of Vietnam is richly detailed by the shadows and darkness that hang over the settings. Noyce drives the story intelligently, but it often goes from A to B without enough of a stimulating spark. The director plays it fairly close to the vest (the most intoxicating scene, a bomb explosion in a town square, was reportedly directed by the Vietnamese second unit director), not tapping into the same sense of exciting adventure that he displays in Rabbit-Proof Fence (you had to expect a comparison, didn't you?).
The Quiet American is a hard film to fault, and it's destined to create some ruckus in the upcoming awards' season. Overall, it's a well executed, if somewhat sterile work, which one can only hope will not be overshadowed by its pre-release drama.
(A Miramax Films release. Opens in
New York and Los Angeles for a two-week Academy Award qualifying
run on November 22. Will be released again on January 10, 2003).
(Screened at the 2002 AFI Film Festival)
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