The Crying Game

Dir: Neil Jordan

1992

*****

Neil Jordan's 1992 film The Crying Game is many things. It's a milestone when it comes to tackling issues of gender, race, sexuality and nationalism, it reinvented the plot twist and it's a fine example of what was, in my opinion, a short lived golden age of modern British film-making. It's also an intense and striking thriller. You could argue however that the thriller element of the film is actually more of a disguise and that the overall film is really about challenging social norms, ideology and politics. The early nineties is a time I'm very fond of and it was a time where certain issues were starting to enter the public's consciousness and acceptance was finally on the rise. There was less homophobia, less racism and far more unity. Thatcherism was on the way out, there was hope and creativity and the old school conformity was being challenged far more openly. However, the IRA bombings in the UK, London in particular, were a continuous threat, it was a politically unstable time and it often takes such an era for important moments to take place. I consider The Crying Game as an important moment. The British press typically misunderstood it and saw it only as a pro-IRA leftist gay romance, which couldn't be further from the truth. It is probably more famous for its twist than anything else, it is a vital part of the film that gives it the impact that makes it great but it also seems to have acted as a distraction as to what the overall film is really about. Our protagonist is Fergus (played by the Academy Award nominated Stephen Rea), an IRA soldier who befriends a black British hostage he would eventually have to kill. He discusses many things with his prisoner (played by the brilliant Forest Whitaker) including race and nationalism as well as people's nature. He is suddenly hit by a profound realization after a sudden and unexpected turn of events and goes into hiding in London where he meets his hostage's girlfriend. The rest of the film is a neo-noir mystery delving through lies, misconception and moral awakening. Like all great classics, it has been mocked, spoofed and ridiculed (particularly unfairly) but it seems to be the price you pay for profound brilliance and making a statement. It's certainly in good company. I think it is probably Neil Jordan's best film, it's certainly my favourite of his and I love mostly all of his movies. He very nearly scrapped the idea after years of trying to gain funding, thankfully his friend Stanley Kubrick encouraged him to keep trying and told him to change the film's title (its working title was the rather misleading The Soldier's Wife) which worked rather well as he got funded within weeks after he took his advice. I love everything about it, it’s complicated simplicity, its unique love story, its beautiful direction and its stunning performances. The script is also to die for and the soundtrack is incredibly memorable. Rea and Whitaker are perfect, Miranda Richardson's split character is brilliant and Adrian Dunbar and Jim Broadbent are great supporting characters in very different roles. I did enjoy Tony Slattery's short but sweet appearance but it is newcomer Jaye Davidson who really steals the show. Davidson, who gave up acting soon after, plays Dil who is in my opinion one of cinema's greatest written and performed characters of all time. I would watch The Crying Game again and again growing up and it’s clearly one of the films that made me into the cinephile I am today. It's very much of its time but also timeless, I love how everything is stripped down to its bare-bones and nothing is labelled, the only thing that counts is what really counts. It's beautiful, a masterpiece and one of my very favourites.