The Crying Game (1992)

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Tell Me What You Feel

The Crying Game (1992)

5/10

 

Starring

Stephen Rea

Miranda Richardson

Jaye Davidson

Forest Whitaker

Directed by Neil Jordan

The Crying game has critical acclaim but I still found it hard to rate it above 5; to me it is something that is not for everybody.

The acting delivered by the trio of Forest Whitaker, Stephen Rea and Jaye Davidson is the only thing this movie runs on, a triumphant entry into a world of perfect acting is what this movie delivers from the first scene. The movie’s plot is also strong enough to keep you watching if you are that interested. The surprise that Fergus got when he found out that his new love is not exactly what he think she is, is the eye opener in the movie.

Getting 6 Academy Award nominations and wining one for Best Original Screenplay, The Crying Game was released in 1992 to a favorable review holding a 100% approval rating from critics in Rotten Tomatoes. This psychological thriller drama was written and directed by filmmaker Neil Jordan (who is also a novelist on the side) who was behind the 1994 movie Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles and the 2007 movie The Brave One with Jodie Foster. Interview with the Vampire also had Stephen Rea as one of the cast with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.

The movie went into production with the name The Soldier’s Wife but the late Stanley Kubrick a good friend of Neil advised him against it, saying with a name like that people will expect a war film. The name of the movie is actually a song Dil (Jaye Davidson) sang at the club where she met Fergus (Stephen Rea). The Crying Game is a song by Boy George.

The movies strong point is the plot, it thickens as the movie goes on; the plot has an IRA soldier named Fergus (Stephen Rea) and his unit, including a woman named Jude (Miranda Richardson) who was the bait to help kidnap Jody (Forest Whitaker).

The IRA kidnapped Jody so as to use him as a bargain chip as they demand the release of other jailed IRA members, threatening to execute Jody if their demands are not met.

While Fergus guards Jody, they develop a bond during which, Jody tells Fergus the story about the Scorpion and the Frog, which teaches the lesson that something’s are natural to some people regardless of the circumstances in which they find themselves.

Jody gets killed and Fergus has to keep a promise that he made to him to help take care of Dil.

I won’t want to rob you of the few thrills I got from the movie, but at least I can say it is not as grand as they all say, but I will let you be the judge of that.