"The Crying Game" is a film about understanding. Over the course of two hours and across two countries, characters that come from ostensibly opposite social groups learn to understand each other, in spite of the efforts of those from their own tribe to discourage that from happening.
First there is Fergus and Jody. Fergus is a white volunteer for the I.R.A., Jody a black soldier for the British crown. Fergus is charged with guarding Jody after he is captured, and his sympathy for his prisoner allows them to connect, despite their conflicting roles in the Troubles. Later, Fergus meets Dil. They are, in a number of categorical ways, very different, but they form a bond as well. It isn't easy, and doesn't happen immediately, but their mutual good will makes it possible.
If you thought "The Crying Game" was a film about the Troubles, you'll likely be surprised. It isn't, and it is, though not in the way you might expect. Surprise may be the film's defining characteristic, especially the way the plot turns from act to act. I won't give away any more than I already have; suffice it to say that the script is excellent. Not just in the twists and turns, but also the dialogue, which is brought to life with stellar acting, especially by Stephen Rea, Forest Whitaker, Jaye Davidson, and Jim Broadbent in a bit part. Everything is done well, including the soundtrack - its feature song, performed with moxie by Davidson before a rapt barroom crowd, gives the film its title.
Well-written, acted, and directed, "The Crying Game" remains a relevant and gripping watch almost three decades after it was made.
First there is Fergus and Jody. Fergus is a white volunteer for the I.R.A., Jody a black soldier for the British crown. Fergus is charged with guarding Jody after he is captured, and his sympathy for his prisoner allows them to connect, despite their conflicting roles in the Troubles. Later, Fergus meets Dil. They are, in a number of categorical ways, very different, but they form a bond as well. It isn't easy, and doesn't happen immediately, but their mutual good will makes it possible.
If you thought "The Crying Game" was a film about the Troubles, you'll likely be surprised. It isn't, and it is, though not in the way you might expect. Surprise may be the film's defining characteristic, especially the way the plot turns from act to act. I won't give away any more than I already have; suffice it to say that the script is excellent. Not just in the twists and turns, but also the dialogue, which is brought to life with stellar acting, especially by Stephen Rea, Forest Whitaker, Jaye Davidson, and Jim Broadbent in a bit part. Everything is done well, including the soundtrack - its feature song, performed with moxie by Davidson before a rapt barroom crowd, gives the film its title.
Well-written, acted, and directed, "The Crying Game" remains a relevant and gripping watch almost three decades after it was made.