The Quiet American (2002)
January 23, 2023 10:37 AM - Subscribe
An older British reporter (Michael Caine) vies with a young U.S. doctor (Brendan Fraser) for the affections of a beautiful Vietnamese woman (Thi Hai Yen Do).
Finally saw this again. I remember it a BIT differently, but not by much...
DOT, elsewhere you said that contrasting this with The Whale was interesting because here he played "the young, fit guy" against Michael Caine. But he actually wasn't held up as being the himbo beefcake in this, the way he was in Gods and Monsters; more like a clean-cut nice guy that you finally learn has a dark side. He did a bit more "wooing" of Caine's character - but the story called for it, in an effort to win his trust for different reasons. (Nature of the story.)
And it was a perfect casting - he does exude this sort of clean-cut, good-guy Midwestern niceness that is a perfect foil for who his character REALLY is, so it comes as a shock when you make that discovery.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:07 PM on February 8, 2023
DOT, elsewhere you said that contrasting this with The Whale was interesting because here he played "the young, fit guy" against Michael Caine. But he actually wasn't held up as being the himbo beefcake in this, the way he was in Gods and Monsters; more like a clean-cut nice guy that you finally learn has a dark side. He did a bit more "wooing" of Caine's character - but the story called for it, in an effort to win his trust for different reasons. (Nature of the story.)
And it was a perfect casting - he does exude this sort of clean-cut, good-guy Midwestern niceness that is a perfect foil for who his character REALLY is, so it comes as a shock when you make that discovery.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:07 PM on February 8, 2023
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
I re-watched Gods and Monsters yesterday, I think I'll continue with this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:24 AM on January 24, 2023