The Crying Game

“I know all there is to know about the Crying Game” goes the famous song which lend this taut thriller its name. Stephen Rea plays a Provisional IRA volunteer who gets slightly more than be bargained for when he falls in love with the girlfriend of a British soldier killed during a kidnapping gone wrong.

I remember very well when this movie was released in the Irish cinemas back in 1992, having lived in Dublin at the time. Whereas audiences in England took offence to the fact that in Neil Jordan’s thriller an IRA hit man is portrayed in a ‘human’ light, in deeply Catholic Ireland many cinema-goers where shocked about a certain gender issue the film is famous for… Undoubtedly things have changed but even back then I found it somewhat hard to understand what all the fuss was about.
The action kicks off at a fairground somewhere in rural Ireland, where Provisional IRA volunteer Fergus (Stephen Rea) and Maguire (Adrian Dunbar) are about to kidnap black British soldier Jody (Forest Whitaker), lured to a secluded spot by fellow IRA member Jude (Miranda Richardson). The IRA demands the release of their imprisoned members within three days and if British authorities don’t comply then Jody will be executed. Fergus is given the task to watch over Jody and during his guard the two men somehow develop a bond. Jody, hood over his head and tied to a chair, reveals the story of the scorpion and the frog – meaning that despite the friendly frog offering the scorpion a ride on his back to bring him across the pond safe, the scorpion stings and both drown with the scorpion remarking “It’s in my nature to sting”. When Fergus asks Jody as to why he told him this story he replies “Because it’s in your nature to be friendly”. Jody also asks Fergus to look after his London-based girlfriend Dil in case anything happens to him. When the demands aren’t met, Fergus is given a gun and ordered to execute Jody in the nearby woods but finds it very hard to do so. Jody uses Fergus’ brief hesitation to do a runner but is accidentally killed by a British vehicle as he crosses a road. Ironically it’s the same vehicle which minutes later moves in to attack the IRA hideout. Believing his colleagues to be dead after the shoot-out and the explosion, Fergus flees to London where he takes on a new identity and goes by the name of Jimmy.

Some time later he indeed tracks down Dil (Jaye Davidson), who works at a hair salon by day and occasionally sings in a bar by night. The first time Jimmy sees her performing, Dil sings ‘The Crying Game’. Jimmy is obviously smitten and soon the two are romantically involved though he doesn’t reveal that he knew Jody. When Dil takes Jimmy to her apartment and they are about to make love, Dil reveals ‘herself’ to be a transgender – something that not only shocks but also repulses Jimmy to the very core (a bit like the guy who sat next to me in that Dublin cinema) and smacks Dil across the face. However, Jimmy eventually recovers from his shock and realises that despite Dil being a ‘chick with a dick’ he still fancies her like crazy. Who knows, perhaps this is the real reason why the film caused so much controversy?
As Dil and Jimmy now embark on a more meaningful relationship, trouble arrives in the form of Jude – still alive and kicking! She makes it known that Fergus aka Jimmy has been tried by the IRA ‘in absentia’ and is now convicted of having betrayed the organisation. Maguire and Jude are willing to give Fergus another chance though, that is to say they are forcing him to participate in a new mission – this time it’s the assassination of a London judge. If Fergus doesn’t comply they will kill Dil. Reluctantly, Fergus agrees to participate but then all goes wrong when on the night before Dil gets intoxicated. During a heated conversation Fergus confesses to have known Jody and to have had an indirect hand in his death… When Fergus wakes up the next morning he finds himself handcuffed to Dil’s bed and thus is unable to meet with the other IRA members for the planned assassination. Now the IRA are after him and Dil and the stage is set for a showdown that throws a few more surprises at us, while the tale of the scorpion and the frog will make a return…

THE CRYING GAME has stood the test of time and although IRA-related topics have long been replaced by ISIS-related topics it still makes for an exciting thriller that’s well acted. That said, certain things don’t necessarily gel, such as the scene in which Dil points a gun at a certain person and actually hits full on – where and when exactly is Dil’s character supposed to have learned his skills as a bona fide marksman? As for Forest Whitaker, who is a fine actor indeed, his soldier ‘Jody’ isn’t exactly believable either as Whitaker simply lacks the physical fitness required from anyone joining the army.
Newcomer Jaye Davidson (whatever became of him?) promptly was nominated with an Academy Award for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ while Stephen Rea was nominated for ‘Best Actor’ though only Neil Jordan actually won an award for ‘Best Screenplay’.
This restored version is a treat to look at and comes with some interesting Extras including ‘The Making of…’ which reveals a thing or two about the difficulties both director and producer had to endure to lift the project off the ground.