Graham
Greene’s novel, The Quiet American,
published in 1955, has probably aroused more controversy than any of his other
many works of fiction. In dealing with the first tentative intervention of the
United States in Vietnam, at a time when the French fought their hopeless
colonial war, the author displayed both uncanny prescience about the larger war
to follow and a powerful distrust of this country, which naturally inspired
resentment in American reviewers. The first film adaptation of the book, in
1958, the heyday of anti-Communism, tactfully obliterated most of the
anti-American sentiments, along with just about everything else. Oddly, it took
many months for this new film to achieve general release, because the people at
Miramax feared drawing the wrath of a new set of jingoes in the present
political climate: times change, but what some people think of as testicular
insufficiency remains a common Hollywood condition.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Although it tends to flatten out and
oversimplify the situation, the plot, and the people, the current version
captures at least some of the tone and texture of a novel by perhaps the most
cinematic writer of the 20th century. Michael Caine plays Thomas
Fowler, a melancholy, cynical journalist based in Saigon, where he reports on
the progress of the French war against the Communist insurgents. Believing few
of the stories he acquires at the official press conferences and submits
through the official censors, Fowler refuses to take sides in the struggle
between East and West, choosing instead a disillusioned neutrality. He finds in
Saigon a refuge from the dreariness of home, the English climate, and a failed
marriage, conducting himself in the manner of the traditional colonial
expatriate — drinking with his fellow journalists at the local bars, sleeping
with his lovely Vietnamese mistress, Phuong (Hai Yen Do), and smoking opium to
provide, perhaps, the necessary release of dreams.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย When a newly arrived American
intrudes into Fowler’s placid, comfortable existence, his world changes and he
finds he must indeed take a major step toward involvement and commitment. Alden
Pyle (Brendan Fraser), the quiet American of the title — the name must
ironically refer to both a previous American naif, John Alden, and a legendary
foreign correspondent, Ernie Pyle — initially behaves like an idealist,
working for a medical team out of the American mission that is apparently
dedicated to helping the Vietnamese people and saving at least a portion of the
world. As everyone but the experienced Fowler must realize, however, Pyle is
actually an officer of the CIA, who believes he can truly help the Vietnamese
by aiding the installation of a puppet leader, a freelance mercenary named
General Thรฉ.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Despite the complicated background
of several opposing sides — Pyle envisions a “Third Force,” distinct from the
French and the Communists, for example — and a confusion of enemies, the
movie pretty much concentrates on the personal conflict between Fowler and
Pyle. The innocent American falls in love with the exquisite Phuong; her
domineering older sister, Miss Hei (Pham Thi Mai Hoa), sees in Pyle a more
suitable mate for Phuong: a young, single, wealthy American who will marry her
sister and take her to a new life in America. The conflict between the two men
for the love of Phuong rather too obviously underlines the political situation,
in which the two cultures struggle for possession of the beautiful, vulnerable
country, a notion that Pyle rather unsubtly articulates in a confrontation with
Fowler.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The picture and the conflict reach
their climax when a terrorist bomb disrupts the sunny calm of a Saigon morning,
and Fowler realizes, amid the maimed bodies, the bleeding children, the dead
and dying, the true nature of Pyle’s idealism and the real meaning of his
dedication. He resolves, with some reluctance, to take some drastic action, a
transformation which leads him finally to his own choice of a side and his own
most ambiguous commitment. The resolution, like everything else in the movie,
hardly approaches anything like heroism or triumph, but hints at some of
Greene’s persistent themes — the choices that lead to betrayal (of both the
self and others), and the dismal failures of love.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Caine has been nominated for a Best
Actor Oscar for his work in The Quiet
American, an honor he richly deserves. Here he turns his cheeky Cockney
cynicism into something older, wiser, sadder, acting and reacting with a sort
of restrained melancholy suited to the dark, tropical languor of the film’s
interiors and the decayed imperial dream he represents. His bulky body and
gee-whiz manner allow Fraser to create a stark contrast to Caine’s underplayed
coolness, but he overplays the eagerness and seldom achieves much in the way of
credibility. If it cannot match the richness and relevance of Greene’s novel,
the movie manages to reflect something of the author’s sensitivity to emotional
and political nuances in faraway places, and his amazingly prophetic vision of
the tragic outcome of an impossible war.
The Quiet
American,
starring Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, Hai Yen Do, Tzi Ma, Pham Thi Mai Hoa,
Quang Hai, Robert Stanton; screenplay by Christopher Hampton and Robert
Schenkkan, directed by Philip Noyce. Little Theatres; Pittsford Plaza Cinema.
You
can hear George and his movie reviews on WXXI-FM 91.5 Fridays at 7:15 a.m.,
rerun on Saturdays at 11:15 a.m.
This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2003.
