Just below its surface, director Phillip Noyce’s adaptation of Graham Greene’s The Quiet American is a study in the power of beautya character study of two men as they learn intimately about natural beauty, the beauty of woman and the power of beauty over man. On top of this theme lie layers of intrigue, deceit and tension at the heart of an encroaching Vietnam War.
Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine), a British reporter covering Vietnam in 1952, falls in love with the country. Taken by its people, landscape and culture, he shirks calls to return West from his employer and milks his post in Southeast Asia. Vietnam is embroiled in the Indochina War, and French control over the country is slipping away.
Fowler sets himself off as an aloof observer, refusing to be called a correspondent because that it would disclose his deep involvement with the country. He has a Vietnamese lover, the radiant Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen). Far younger than he, her beauty also consumes him. Fowler draws his sustenance from her affection, as well as a nightly draw from an opium pipe.
One morning over tea, Fowler encounters a newly arrived American, Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), who threatens his comfortable existence. Pyle’s eager doctor falls instantly for Phuong. Fowler implies through narration that saving a woman might well equate to saving the country for this quiet newcomer. Pyle’s pursuit of Phuong pushes Fowler’s desperate need to cling to her and drives him to deceit keep her from slipping through his hands.
Caine’s portrayal of Fowler is easily one of the stronger performances of last year and could garner him another Academy Award nomination. He memorably captures Fowler’s dependency on Phuonghow her beauty both balances and drives him. Fraser’s wide-eyed doctor embodies hope for a new direction for the Vietnam and simultaneously explodes in love for the woman he spirits away from Fowler.
Do Thi Hai Yen, in her first American role, plays Phuong with a quiet grace and charm that easily account for her winning the affections of men far her senior. Phuong’s youth is hard to take next to senior citizen Caine. While the ages in the film are never stated, she was 19 when The Quiet American was shot, with Caine is pushing 70. Fowler laments that he is too old for his young lover, and while she tries to calm his fears, he must recognize the threat of the new American.
Noyce’s failure to fully develop Phuong’s character may be the film’s most glaring shortcoming. We never get to see her side of the story and only hear second hand why she chooses to forego her chance at a proper marriage in Vietnam to live with an aging Brit who can never marry her. Phuong’s story is only told through the eyes of our foreign reporter. In his novel, Greene shows disdain for the colonialism of the Americans, but the film fails to give voice to the most important native character.
Meanwhile, the depiction of Fowler’s need for Phuong and his dependence on her is quite powerful, though it begs the question of how strong the co-dependency runs. The film might benefit from a deeper examination of his failure to cope after losing Phuong instead of immediately spiraling into the investigation for his story. Fowler’s narration, which carries the early part of the film, disappears when his insight would be most enlightening.
Fortunately Caine’s transcendent interpretation of Fowler’s suffering carries the role beyond its unexplored character’s depths. He deftly shifts from intrepid reporter to a lovesick, frail old man with restrained nuances. It is primarily Caine’s engaging work as Fowler that propels The Quiet American.
The film rolls along at a fairly temperate pace. Noyce’s intimate camera work compliments the cast, but he is not afraid to twist the screws with an occasional tense encounter or white-knuckle enemy engagement.
In the film, the two countries are at a crossroad. Even this early in the conflict, Noyce sets the stage for America’s counter-communist involvement. What does this quiet American have to do with the expanding conflict, and how far will he go to accomplish his ends? Perhaps his fatal mistake will be falling under the spell of a Vietnamese woman.
Noyce’s film successfully wraps intimate character study into a tale of jealousy and intrigue. Ultimately, Caine delivers the real gemhis engaging performance reveals an artisan at the peak of his craft. It’s a beauty Oscar will be hard pressed to ignore.