The Quiet American (2002)

The choices we avoid the longest are often the ones that end up defining us. Philip Noyce's "The Quiet American," based on Graham Greene's classic novel, proves that elegant, intelligent filmmaking can also pack a real emotional punch. Michael Caine stars as Thomas Fowler, a world-weary British journalist in 1950s Saigon, with a beautiful young Vietnamese mistress, Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen), and a cynical detachment from the political turmoil swirling all around him. He befriends Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), a seemingly harmless, idealistic American aid worker who soon falls in love with Phuong. Slowly, Pyle's true purpose in Vietnam comes to light, and Fowler realizes that to hold on to the carefully balanced life he's built, he'll have to make choices he has avoided for years. Caine, in an Oscar-nominated performance, and Fraser are both superb, putting a human face on complicated politics. The result is a film that works both as compelling history and as an intimate story of very specific people caught in a deeply personal conflict.