A British soldier called Jody is kidnapped by the IRA and held hostage . Given the task of guarding him Fergus listens to Jody discuss his life . Showing Fergus a photograph of his girlfriend Dil and Fergus starts a strange obsession for Dil
In 1992 this came and went in the blink of an eye at the British box office . Hardly surprising because the British box office appetite for Brit movies was still three or four years away . A British film in those days was basically a TV play with slightly better production values and this one is little different . When it was released in the rest of the world it became the film to see especially in America . Cynical Brits who hadn't seen the film would sneer that showing the IRA is a good light might have everything to do with it but then critics and marketing started making reference to the film's twist so much that when the film started picking up nominations at the big awards ceremonies people would jokingly ask if Jaye Davidson would be Oscar nominated as best supporting actor or best supporting actress
This of course lets the cat out of the bag for everyone who hadn't seen the film . THE CRYING GAME exists mainly to set up this plot twist . If it was a conventional love story it would have headed straight to video and obscurity . Great suspension of disbelief is needed and the disbelief is a bit too difficult to suspend . Dil might look very feminine on celluloid but I can tell you in real life ladyboy wannabes are not so convincing . I remember one time in Pokhara in Nepal the town opened its gates to a ladyboy convention and I guarantee you not even Stevie Wonder would be fooled . There's a mannerism and a metaphysical aura to a transsexual impersonating a woman that fails to convince and knowing this you'd have severe doubts that Fergus would be taken in . The screenplay itself is very contrived with Jody having to become conveniently deaf which seals his fate and Fergus having to bump in to old friends
That said I did find myself not exactly enjoying the film after first seeing it after a gap of nearly twenty years but respecting it more . This is certainly almost down to the hype surrounding the film on its release in America where the critics gave the impression this was the greatest film ever made . It's not but is a well acted well made drama . Forest Whittaker makes a mess of his accent which while rarely slipping in to American doesn't sound like a London accent . Stephen Rea manages to make his character likable even though he playing the long clichéd role of a " good " IRA man . Miranda Richardson who seemed to appear in every British film from the period does well enough enough to exorcise memories of her singularly awful performances as Queen Ezlibath in BLACKADDER 2 but the film quite rightly belongs to Jaye Davidson as Dil after appearing in this also gave an equally good performance in STARGATE then promptly disappeared as quickly arrived
In summary THE CRYING GAME is a film that probably suffered from its own hype after becoming a sleeper hit in the States . It's never as deep as it tries try to be fusing issues of sexuality and identity . It's a love story with a difference but apart from the shock plot twist it's a film that would have appeared on channel 4 one Thursday night without causing a ripple
In 1992 this came and went in the blink of an eye at the British box office . Hardly surprising because the British box office appetite for Brit movies was still three or four years away . A British film in those days was basically a TV play with slightly better production values and this one is little different . When it was released in the rest of the world it became the film to see especially in America . Cynical Brits who hadn't seen the film would sneer that showing the IRA is a good light might have everything to do with it but then critics and marketing started making reference to the film's twist so much that when the film started picking up nominations at the big awards ceremonies people would jokingly ask if Jaye Davidson would be Oscar nominated as best supporting actor or best supporting actress
This of course lets the cat out of the bag for everyone who hadn't seen the film . THE CRYING GAME exists mainly to set up this plot twist . If it was a conventional love story it would have headed straight to video and obscurity . Great suspension of disbelief is needed and the disbelief is a bit too difficult to suspend . Dil might look very feminine on celluloid but I can tell you in real life ladyboy wannabes are not so convincing . I remember one time in Pokhara in Nepal the town opened its gates to a ladyboy convention and I guarantee you not even Stevie Wonder would be fooled . There's a mannerism and a metaphysical aura to a transsexual impersonating a woman that fails to convince and knowing this you'd have severe doubts that Fergus would be taken in . The screenplay itself is very contrived with Jody having to become conveniently deaf which seals his fate and Fergus having to bump in to old friends
That said I did find myself not exactly enjoying the film after first seeing it after a gap of nearly twenty years but respecting it more . This is certainly almost down to the hype surrounding the film on its release in America where the critics gave the impression this was the greatest film ever made . It's not but is a well acted well made drama . Forest Whittaker makes a mess of his accent which while rarely slipping in to American doesn't sound like a London accent . Stephen Rea manages to make his character likable even though he playing the long clichéd role of a " good " IRA man . Miranda Richardson who seemed to appear in every British film from the period does well enough enough to exorcise memories of her singularly awful performances as Queen Ezlibath in BLACKADDER 2 but the film quite rightly belongs to Jaye Davidson as Dil after appearing in this also gave an equally good performance in STARGATE then promptly disappeared as quickly arrived
In summary THE CRYING GAME is a film that probably suffered from its own hype after becoming a sleeper hit in the States . It's never as deep as it tries try to be fusing issues of sexuality and identity . It's a love story with a difference but apart from the shock plot twist it's a film that would have appeared on channel 4 one Thursday night without causing a ripple