The Quiet American
Director: Phillip Noyce
Year Released: 2002
Rating: 1.5
A British journalist in Vietnam (Michael Caine) and an American spy (Brendan Fraser) - under the 'cover' of a concerned physician - battle over the heart of the country and the heart of a young, nondescript woman (who isn't given much of a character). The "anti-American" charge isn't exactly off-base, but I actually have no problem with a critical critique of the United States' (atrocious) foreign policy - I just wished the film would have handled it with a lot more class, instead of having case officer Fraser ordering photographers to photograph mutilated bodies while concerned with the blood splatter on his (presumably pricey) trousers. Not sure why Caine got nominated for this role - he does the same outwardly dignified but internally concerned part here that he's been doing for a long time (which isn't to criticize Caine, one the cinema's greatest actors, I'm just wondering).
