Review of The Quiet American (2002) by Andrew G — 16 Apr 2010

"I know I am behaving badly, but I have every intention of behaving badly." Thomas Fowler -- Michael Caine.

This is one of my favourite films, and a reminder as to why I love film so much as the art it truly is. I am absolutely disgusted that the Quiet American only received one nomination at the Academy Awards, and that was to Michael Caine as Best Actor (an award I think he should have won). Let me get this straight: Chicago, a good film, wins Best Picture; great films like the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and the Pianist get nominated for Best Picture; yet the Quiet American, a film that truly is incredible and probably the best film of 2002 doesn't get that nomination? It's ridiculous that the only Academy Award recognition that it received as a nomination for the performance of the always good Michael Caine? No supporting actor nomination for Brendan Fraser? No Best Adapted Screenplay Nomination? Not even a Best Cinematography Nomination? As much as I wanted it to win in these areas, I'm not saying that it should have. All I know is that this represents everything about good film-making in the last decade, and that it receives more praise than just a few glowing reviews.

Based on the classic book of the same name, the Quiet American is set in Saigon in 1951: a city in Vietnam. Thomas Fowler is an English journalist, who is married in England with a Catholic woman, but in love with a Vietnamese girl, Phuong. Thomas meets Alden Pyle in a bar, a doctor working on an aid mission. It doesn't take too long for Pyle to fall in love with Phuong. Pyle offers her what Thomas can't give: marriage and an escape from Vietnam. Meanwhile, the political situation in Vietnam is boiling, with the French desiring control over the country again. The film is a Political film, with some Romance. It sounds like an extremely dull film that wouldn't be entertaining, but that's not quite correct. The film is heavy on both aspects, but it never gets boring. I've heard people complain that the romantic sub-plot is really cliché and unfitting for the film. Quite frankly, I don't understand why anyone would think that. The sub-plot isn't overdone, and it's an essential part of the story. If you've read the novel this is based on, you'll know it's present there. It's constantly interesting, and it's further cemented by being intense. Later on in the film, you can feel yourself thinking "Oh dear"; desperate to wonder what happens next. It does it incredibly. There's a little bit of a twist later in the film, and it genuinely got to me. I can't say that I didn't entirely see it coming, but it was brilliant that the film actually went there. Seeing as there is political turmoil in the film, we get scenes of destruction. These scenes are shocking, and deeply horrifying. It got an extremely strong reaction from me, and almost had me in tears. However, the film doesn't try too hard to make you feel sad, relying on your reactions. It doesn't overdo the scenes, yet shows enough to let you make your mind up. Most other films would push it even further, in a desperate attempt to get a reaction from you.

As a Political/Romantic Drama, you need to have good performances in order to be able to invest into the characters. Thankfully, the performances in the Quiet American are incredible. Michael Caine plays the lead role in this, and is it shocking that he's absolutely amazing at it? The depth he gives the character, and the way we see the way he reacts to different situations is flawlessly shown by Caine. Fowler's anger isn't over the top, but we feel it when he has to display it. When he feels sad, it's believable that an old man would react the way they do in this. We get to see a happy character, furious character, jealous character, and pretty much every emotion you can think of. The beauty of the performance is that Caine can be really relaxed at times, yet still give of the impression of greatness. The way he portrays the emotions is rather reserved, sort of like the well educated person he is would act in real life. Seriously, will Caine ever give a bad performance? Between this, Sleuth, the Italian Job and Alfie, it's fair to say that he's one of the greatest actors ever put on film. Up until this film, Brendan Fraser to me was only the lead guy in the Mummy, and the idiot in MonkeyBone. This was the first film that showed me that he could do a hell of a lot more than standard Adventure and hopeless comedy. The performance he gives in this feels really natural, but at the same time, there is a level of depth to his character. Fraser has to play 2 versions of the character: the innocent and quiet American that we're first introduced to; and the cunning and more sadistic character. Fraser plays both characters well, but the film always brings me frustration: why does an actor who displays he can be as good as this choose awful scripts? Do Thi Hai Yen plays Phuong, and her performance is really good. We sense the emotions the character feels, and the beauty of the performance is that Yen doesn't try to take all of the attention. It's as if she knows that it's a display of Caine and Fraser's acting talents, and plays the role just how it is required. She surprisingly leaves a strong impression, and I feel that she should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

The Cinematography in this film is amazing. It's really convincing, yet they don't go too far. The sets are wonderful to look at from a visual perspective, and it's just so great to know that they made sure to make that aspect of the film good, not just the story and the acting on the forefront of the story. The film also provides insight into foreign culture, even though it is brief. While it's noticeable, it not too distracting and you don't take yourself out of the plot. It's great to look at a film and see foreign culture, without feeling like you're being forced to see how another country acts. It's a superb job that the film does.

The Quiet American is among the best films I have ever seen, and it receives my highest recommendations. If you appreciate film as an art as much as I do, or like any intellectual Political films then there's no excuse for you not watching this film. See it, and don't regret it.

Andrew's rating: 10 out of 10.