Written by Graham Greene, Christopher Hampton, and Robert Schenkkan
Directed by Phillip Noyce

Prior to his Hollywood renaissance, Brendan Fraser was an actor who made me scratch my head. He could be very good, such as in Gods and Monsters and Crash. On the other hand, he chose projects such as The Mummy and George of the Jungle. In the case of The Quiet American, it would be one of his choices and performances that is in line with the first two. I just wish there were more of them.

Michael Caine is Thomas Fowler, a British reporter stationed in Vietnam during the French Indochina War in 1952. We are given the end of the story, essentially, in the first five minutes, as Fowler is asked to identify a body. It is that of Alden Pyle (portrayed by Brendan Fraser). Fowler immediately goes to tell Phuong (portrayed by Do Thi Hai Yen), the woman at the center of the love triangle between the two men.

The film then goes back to show how the relationship between the two men and the triangle developed. This was a time before American troops were committed to efforts in the war-torn country. France was the one in there trying to stop the Communist invasion, and facing many of the same hazards American troops would encounter in the later decades.

Fowler asserts he is a reporter who just tells what he sees with no bias. He meets Pyle, who is allegedly an American Aid Worker, one morning in his usual spot for coffee. The two strike up a friendship. Fowler stresses when his paper recalls him to London. He has a nice life in Vietnam. He’s managed to escape the trappings of his Roman Catholic marriage and has a girlfriend he loves. He’s grown used to the easy life of watching the world go by with little commitments except to turn in a story at regular intervals.

Phuong cares for Fowler deeply, but she is also looking for a way out of the life she has. Sparks fly when Pyle makes his intentions known, and Fowler’s attitude and possessiveness all but drive him away. He needs Phuong and the way she makes him feel alive. He doesn’t see that Pyle gives her a possible future that he can’t.

When Fowler is granted a one-month reprieve from his newspaper, he travels to the Cambodian border to try to get an audience with General The. When Fowler drives up, he finds Pyle working there. Pyle helps him get an audience with the General, but Fowler’s questions cause the General to cut off the interview. Circumstances force the two men together, and Pyle proves his character. This is more than can be said for Fowler, who seems to continually act and react in his own selfish interests.

The story here is really a love triangle set against the backdrop of a country the audience already knows will descend into chaos. Rather than being about the conflict, the conflict serves as a backdrop to the events in the lives of these three characters. The political intrigue is there and simmers below the surface as Pyle’s true character and real motive becomes evident. It’s a harsh criticism of our actions there and probably elsewhere in the world as well.

The performances are terrific. Michael Caine is another actor like Fraser who sometimes chooses roles that are obviously made for the paycheck rather than the quality of the role. Here, he has what could be a stereotypical role of an older, married lover trying to prove his vitality in the face of a challenge. He handles it quite well and gives Fowler a good deal of depth, rather than making him one-dimensional.

Fraser’s role is a bit more complex, and he handles it well. He conveys the American arrogance and idealism that led us into the war, thinking we could solve the world’s problems. Since we know the ending right off, it helps that Fraser is always portraying Pyle as seeing the world in a basic way. It makes the events as they unfold more believable.

Newcomer Do Thi Hai Yen does remarkably well in her role. She is a demure, delicate Asian woman, but she draws on a strength to stand up for herself when she has been betrayed. Rather than being one-dimensional as the delicate flower in need of protection, she gives the character strength that made me believe she has what it takes to survive into the future, with or without the men in her life.

Filmed in Vietnam and Australia, The Quiet American manages to look beautiful. It’s remarkable to think the country can look this beautiful after being ravaged by the effects of war (and Agent Orange) for nearly three decades. Director Phillip Noyce paces it nicely, using the effect of slowing down time quite nicely when Fowler has a sense of what’s about to happen in one particular scene.

The DVD extras are good. I enjoyed listening to the commentary as it gave a lot of background to what was happening as well as observations as to what filming the movie was like.

The Quiet American is a surprisingly good film with a subtle political point made against the backdrop of a love triangle. The acting is terrific, the story is well-written and well-paced, and the setting is beautiful. The story resonates especially well, thinking about the lead-up to when we invaded Iraq at the turn of the century. We can’t always be the savior of the world.



SPECIAL FEATURES:

” Anatomy of a Scene
” Feature Commentary with Director Phillip Noyce, Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, Tzi Ma, Producers Sydney Pollack, Staffan Ahrenberg, William Hoberg, Co-Writer Christopher Hampton, and Interpretor/Advisor Tran An Hua
” Original Featurette
” Vietnam Timeline
” Original Book Reviews of The Quiet American
” DVD-ROM Features