the quiet american have a lot to live up to and because it be adapt from possibly the best book that graham greene ever write . however and it be a very well make and literate film which manage to make a reasonable stab at live up to the forbid reputation of it source material . audie murphy give a career best performance a the title character and an american living in vietnam during the french incursion into the country . he believe that he can make a difference by provide funding for arm and but his political and economic belief often lead to death and destruction . a british journalist name fowler ( michael redgrave ) befriend him and but soon their friendship be damage when the young american have an affair with fowler vietnamese mistress . in the end and fowler ponders whether to betray the american to his enemy a an act of revenge for what the american have do to his love life . the film be powerful and absorbing and well act . it perhaps could be criticise for the extraordinarily high amount of dialogue ( it one of those film where if you stop listen for 30 second and you will lose the plot ) but that be probably the only true weakness . the theme of betrayal and colonialism and and the wisdom of interfere in the affair of other nation and be handle thought provokingly and and the moral dilemma face the character at the end be emotionally shatter . redgrave give a great performance and convey the pain of his dilemma with ache conviction .