The Crying Game (1992)

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 a 5; to me, it’s something that’s 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’re interested. The surprise that Fergus experiences when he finds out that his new love isn’t exactly what he thought she was is the eye-opener in the movie.

Getting 6 Academy Award nominations and winning one for Best Original Screenplay, The Crying Game was released in 1992 to favorable reviews, holding a 100% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. This psychological thriller-drama was written and directed by filmmaker Neil Jordan (who is also a novelist) and 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 members, alongside Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.

The movie went into production under the title The Soldier’s Wife, but the late Stanley Kubrick, a good friend of Neil Jordan, advised against it, saying that with a name like that, people would expect a war film. The name of the movie actually comes from 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 movie’s strong point is the plot, which thickens as it goes on. The story revolves around an IRA soldier named Fergus (Stephen Rea) and his unit, including a woman named Jude (Miranda Richardson), who is used as bait to help kidnap Jody (Forest Whitaker).

The IRA kidnaps Jody to use him as a bargaining chip to 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 some things are natural to certain people, regardless of the circumstances in which they find themselves.

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

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