The Quiet American | Review

Caine’s performance is impeccable in film about “who shall fall the hardest”.

I have a feeling that once this decade is over, cinephiles will refer to the 2002 film slot as an amazing year for movies and crowning this reinvigoration for the celluloid is the late Oscar entry and February release of Phillip Noyce’s political drama which is the perfect follow-up to the epic tale of the unforgettable journey found in Rabbit-Proof Fence. The Quiet American is a story about many stories, one part sees a British journalist’s (Michael Caine-Last Orders) love for a country grow fonder because of this centre-piece female who gives him a whole new reason for living, it is also a tale about this odd friendship that develops between the older man and this mysteriously young American Pyle (Brendan Fraser-Gods and Monsters) who eventually becomes more of a foe than friend and finally this is the tale of a bigger threat- the internal struggle against the communist red north and the United State’s pre-involvement in the political hotbed of a Vietnam. The film starts off with a muffled bang!, showing us a corpse laying motionless in the dark night of a Saigon village, while Caine’s smooth narration gives us a personalized chronicle of his character Fowler as the film’s protagonist, the atmospheric visuals from cinematographer from Christopher Doyle gives depth to the pacing of the picture and furthermore adds a moody voice to the film’s more mysterious elements.

There is a lot to like about this film, first the story with Noyce’s perfectly executed ascension in tension and the mystery which is displayed in this see-saw amalgamation between this chic romantic entanglement-type of triangle and the light political back-story is very appealing under the splendid backdrop of a Vietnam which could easily pass off for any era and still contain the same charm. Caine displays a solid performance, showing the character in a range of emotions and the tension and power struggle between himself and Fraser’s personage are magnetically authentic allowing us to grasp the whole “who is the back-stabber, but who carries the longer knife” annex in the narrative. You can tell that a lot of pre-production went into this feature, particularly in the shot locations and the shot selections in some of the dialogue scenes. Noyce gives us complex political corruption issues, but its underbelly is just as interesting and the intrigue keeps the viewer focused all the way through. While the film drops off many clues and ‘footsteps’ along the way and sometimes feels to obvious about giving the viewer a slight lead in knowing the unraveling of the details, the piece still manages to keep us at bay in the film’s tighter finale and comes across particularly well in some of Noyce’s choice camera shots. After the disappointing Hollywood trite in the form of The Saint and The Bone Collector, Noyce can expect some Oscar noms with this atmospherically relaxed film,-which to put it quite simply is a marvel to watch. Fraser should continue to take on such roles and after a career year for the filmmaker, I’m eagerly awaiting his next directorial effort. The Quiet American is a visually beautiful and perfectly toned and paced novel to screen adaptation-a film that will be a delight to watch on more than one occasion.

Rating 4 stars