The Quiet American 2002

Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News: Old-fashioned storytelling in the best sense of the term. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Raser has finally made good on his hesitant dramatic turn in Gods and Monsters a few years back. Read more

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: Exceedingly handsome, unapologetically intelligent drama. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: A fine adaptation despite the slight departures from its source, with warm cinematography that captures the feel of '50s Saigon and two performances worthy of Oscar attention. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: The Saigon of 1952 is an uneasy mix of sensual delights and simmering violence, and The Quiet American brings us right into the center of that world. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: It's a political story -- and an uncannily timely one -- yet the politics fade into the background in the wake of Caine's complex and splendid performance. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: An instant classic and a dramatic beauty, a film that gets us to the core of Greene's chilly, dark and romantic view of the post-war world. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Does a superb job of evoking the psychological world of Graham Greene in which the truth of any situation tends to be hidden and riddled with ambiguities. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Caine, who also starred in one other Greene adaptation, 1983's The Honorary Consul, is the essence of almost all the author's misfits -- a practiced cynic masking an aching romantic. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: A fine film anchored by a terrific performance by one of cinema's most accomplished actors. Read more

Steven Rosen, Denver Post: This story still seems timely and important. And there's an element of heartbreak to watching it now, with older and wiser eyes, because we know what will happen after Greene's story ends. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: [A] superbly controlled, passionate adaptation of Graham Greene's 1955 novel. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: The result is a rarity on the modern screen -- a film with more brains than heart. Yet that alone makes for a pleasant change. Read more

Jane Sumner, Dallas Morning News: This version incarnates the prophetic book in a way even its exacting author might admire. Read more

John Patterson, L.A. Weekly: [Noyce] has made a good-looking, intelligent stab at the novel, mildly undermined by a tendency to seek contemporary relevance. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Strong, haunting and couldn't be more timely. Read more

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture: A full experience, a love story and a murder mystery that expands into a meditation on the deep deceptions of innocence. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Highly recommended viewing for its courage, ideas, technical proficiency and great acting. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: Mr. Caine and Mr. Fraser are the whole show here, with their memorable and resourceful performances. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Noyce has wrought an often-compelling tale of life, love, and jealousy played out under the gathering storm clouds of war. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: A rare Western feature shot in Vietnam, with real locations and sets that look well-worn enough to be real, with wonderful performances. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: Phillip Noyce and all of his actors -- as well as his cinematographer, Christopher Doyle -- understand the delicate forcefulness of Greene's prose, and it's there on the screen in their version of The Quiet American. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: This is a smart and literate effort that despite some weaknesses in overall conception has one undeniable virtue: There's not a single weak scene. Read more

David Edelstein, Slate: It's hard to imagine a tighter, more gripping adaptation of Graham Greene's 1955 novel. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: For Caine, it's a peak performance in a career that has had many of them. Read more

Derek Adams, Time Out: [Caine] gives one of his best performances, whether dissembling a new-found inner steel under questioning or breaking down in the privacy of a toilet. Read more

Mike Clark, USA Today: This is intelligent grown-up entertainment on both a political and a humanistic level. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: Not only true to Greene's novel -- it has the effect of making the novel itself seem truer than it has ever been. Read more