THE QUIET AMERICAN

Starring: Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, Do Thi Hai Yen and Rade Serbedzija
Director: Phillip Noyce
Running Time: 101 mins
Certificate: 15

Out to buy on DVD 8th September

Saigon 1952, American medical adviser Alden Pyle (Fraser) is found dead. British reporter Thomas Fowler (Caine) recounts their friendship and rivalry in the troubled country of Vietnam. As the Communists and the French thought over the country, Pyle and Fowler thought for the attention of Phuong (Hai Yen), Fowler's young Vietnamese mistress.

Director Phillip Noyce adapts Graham Green's novel about American's covert involvement in the French occupation of Vietnam but concentrates more on the love story within than making a political statement. Even so post-911, the movie has had a very limited release in the US as it is deems to show a negative side to American's early involvement in Vietnam.

This is a shame as the movie is a tour-de-force for Michael Caine. He brings Thomas Fowler to life with a very understated, very non-Michael Caine like performance. Gone is his usual trademark raised voice and accentuated London accent and in it's place is quite, self-serving manor that keeps him out of trouble and never threatens his idyllic ex-pat lifestyle as his character watches Vietnam fall apart around him. This is one of Sir Michael's best ever performances and finally proves that there is more to his talent than just a Londoner for which the media ridiculed him for years. This performance will gain him the respect he deserves, even after winning two Oscars.

Good support comes from a more serious Brendan Fraser. Also moving away from his usual big budget screen personas, Fraser delivers a performance that will open his career up to many new avenues. The movie comes alight when Caine and he share the screen with their performances making the story all that more riveting. The beautiful Do Thi Hai Yen as the object of the pair's affections is also good, even though she has nothing really to do than look stunning.

The film does suffer from not being hard-hitting enough which is probably due to the current world climate but it does get its point across. This doesn't affect the main themes of jealously and personal agenda but the underlying back-story could have been a little more prevalent.

This is a superbly acted and beautifully shot movie that is worth going to see for Michael Caine alone. Director Phillip Noyce brings out the best in the British veteran by surrounding him with the beauty of Vietnam and the horrors of war.

Audio commentary featuring director Philip Noyce with actors Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser & Tzi Ma with the film's producers, the writer and the interpreter, 'Anatomy Of A Scene' featurette, Vietnam study guide, Original book reviews of Graham Greene's novel 'The Quiet American', Interactive menu & Scene access