This adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel about a British journalist in 1952 Vietnam can’t quite shake its source material. Chunks of the book are borrowed for voice-over narration, mostly out of narrative necessity rather than as part of some grand thematic plan. On the plus side are strong turns by the Oscar-nominated Michael Caine as the
Brit and Brendan Fraser as a shady American relief worker. They’re ready to make a movie; The Quiet American is content to be an audio book.
