The Crying Game
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The Crying Game is a 1968 novel by John Braine, as well as the name of the 1992 film adaptation of the novel.
The film
The Crying Game (1992) is an Irish film written and directed by Neil Jordan. The film explores themes of race, nationality and sexuality at the time of the Irish Troubles. The original working title of this film was The Soldier's Wife. The film is remarkable for leading audiences to sympathize with a terrorist and a transgendered person, both traditionally figures of horror for mainstream audiences but here presented as complex and likable human beings. Audiences accepted the film as a thriller, but also a very unconventional romance. For this reason, the film has become something of a cult classic in the GLBT community.
Plot
The film begins as a psychological thriller, as IRA foot soldier Fergus (played by Stephen Rea) and a gang of other IRA members, including Jude (played by Miranda Richardson) kidnap Jody, a British soldier (played by Forest Whitaker). The IRA members demand the release of other jailed IRA and threaten to execute Jody in three days if their demands are not met. While Fergus guards Jody they develop a bond. Jody gets Fergus to agree to go to his wife after he (Jody) is killed and make sure she is alright. Then, although Fergus risks his own life by failing to prevent his escape, Jody is accidentally killed when he attempts to flee. Fergus then hides from his IRA companions in London, where he takes a job as a day laborer and the alias "Jimmy". In London, Fergus meets and falls in love with Jody's transgendered girlfriend Dil (played by Jaye Davidson).
The film takes Fergus (Rea) through a gamut of emotion regarding the transgendered Dil. Initially he believes she is, genetically and biologically, a woman, but he feels guilty for being attracted to the lover of Jody, the now-dead interrogation subject he had befriended. Later, when Fergus is about to make love to Dil and he discovers she is transgendered, he is repulsed, striking her brutally and running into the bathroom to vomit. Eventually he reluctantly gives in to his growing attraction to Dil, an attraction that soon turns to love and finally leads to him going to prison for her sake. At the film's end Fergus has fully accepted Dil as a woman (even if he is still uncomfortable acknowledging that she is not one biologically), and the two end the film deeply commited to each other.
The film does not at any point indicate that Fergus is a repressed homosexual who is finally admitting the truth to himself by persuing Dil. Rather, he is presented and considers himself as heterosexual, but he now finds that the woman he is attracted to happens to be, biologically, a man. Jordan himself isn't gay or transgendered, and has been married for many years and has several children.
Production details
The film was originally made for UK television but was given a cinematic release after some good reviews. It was a sleeper hit in the U.S., where it was received to critical acclaim and went on to be nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Writer-director Neil Jordan won an Oscar for his screenplay.Soundtrack
The soundtrack to the film was produced by Anne Dudley and the Pet Shop Boys, and Boy George scored his first hit in years with his recording of the title song. The closing rendition of Stand By Your Man was performed by American singer Lyle Lovett.Cast
The acclaimed cast included Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Forest Whitaker, Jaye Davidson, Jim Broadbent and Adrian Dunbar.Davidson was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, although the prize went to Gene Hackman for his performance in Unforgiven. The nomination led to some controversy, as the revelation of Davidson's gender was a spoiler for viewers who had not yet seen The Crying Game. There was much speculation about what Davidson would wear to the Oscars, as his appearing as a man would possibly spoil the film's surprise. In the end Davidson wore a rather androgynous outfit, and the event passed without incident.
In the 2005 film Breakfast on Pluto, Jordan would tell another tale of a sympathetic transgendered person getting entangled in the Irish Troubles, and the film would also feature Rea. Pluto, however, was much more stylized and episodic than The Crying Game, and proved less popular with audiences.
Tagline: Play It At Your Own Risk
See also
External links
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