“The Quiet American” (2002)
The second adaptation of the Graham Greene novel, the film is set in 1952 Vietnam, and sees Caine play Thomas Fowler competing with an American CIA agent (Brendan Fraser) for the love of local beauty Phuong (Hai Yen). As Fowler, Caine plays an eyewitness to the development of the Vietnam War and used Greene as inspiration in developing his character, telling the BBC that, “I didn’t know him very well, but I knew a great deal about him. […] I knew a lot by proxy. I just copied something of the way he [Greene] spoke, and his movements. They were very small.” He did it so successfully that the film garnered some success and a few nominations in spite of having been shelved for a year in the wake of 9/11 and cries over supposed anti-American sentiments. But Caine trudged on and succeeded where many others would fail. His role here is among his most complex and textured performances, and deserves a look by anyone that might have skipped it first time around.
“Children Of Men” (2006)
After seeming to settle into the position of highly respected older British supporting actor (see “Cider House Rules” and “Batman Begins“), Michael Caine shook things up by playing an aged hippy in “Children of Men.” Taking second seat to the main plot of Theo’s (Clive Owen) attempt to save humanity through a miraculously pregnant woman, the star plays Jasper, a former political cartoonist who spends his days smoking weed and listening to tunes in the woods. Even as the world is crumbling around him, Jasper says, “Pull my finger!” Although a minor part, the actor steals a few scenes (“Your baby is the miracle the whole world has been waiting for”), providing real levity in an otherwise tough film (playing air guitar to Aphex Twin), and pathos in his heroic last stand. In “Children of Men,” Caine’s versatility is tested and he comes out on top yet again.
“The Dark Knight Rises” (2012)
In his twilight years, Caine has become the unexpected muse of one of the biggest filmmakers in the world: he’s featured in the last five of Christopher Nolan‘s films (and has apparently been promised a role in his next, “Interstellar“) proving a reliable, sly supporting hand from “Batman Begins” to “Inception.” They’re all fine performances (even one as brief as in “Inception”) but perhaps Caine’s finest Nolan hour so far came in last year’s “The Dark Knight Rises.” Of all the relationships Bruce Wayne has had throughout Nolan’s trilogy, none have been as important as that with Alfred, his most important father figure. As the man who raised him, and promised his parents to look out for the young man for the rest of his life, Alfred has grappled with Bruce’s desire to save Gotham even as it so very often comes at the risk of his own life. And in “The Dark Knight Rises,” Alfred reaches the limit of what he can stand by and watch Bruce do. With his body battered, spirit waning and public image still tarnished, Bruce is very much on the path of martyrdom early in the movie (and seemingly pretty much suicidal), something the world-wise Alfred recognizes all too well, and he will have no part of it. When he announces to Bruce that he can no longer in good conscience be with him — and reveals at the same time the contents of Rachel’s letter from “The Dark Knight” as a last resort to get Master Wayne to move on from his plans to return as Batman — it’s a crushing scene. And Caine is absolutely shattering in it, delivering one of the best pieces of acting in the entire trilogy, and giving the film a much-needed emotional core, the trilogy a lovely arc for Bruce and Alfred.
Honorable Mentions: Possibly the biggest omission here is “The Cider House Rules,” the film that won Caine his second Oscar. It’s as fine a turn, but perhaps one of those Oscar wins that’s for a breadth of career achievement rather than the specific performance itself. That said, it did allow Caine to give one of the all-time greatest Oscar speeches, which you can watch below.
Other performances we considered, but didn’t quite have time for include “Gambit,” “The Italian Job,” “The Eagle Has Landed,” “California Suite,” “Educating Rita,” “Last Orders,” “Is Anybody There?” and “Harry Brown.” Any others you feel deserve a mention? Let us know below.
– Oliver Lyttelton, Diana Drumm