Prismark10 Looking back at The Crying Game after a quarter of a century from its cinema release, it still is an intriguing film. It also looks increasingly quaint because within two years of its release there was a rapprochement between the IRA and the British government that would eventually lead to the peace process.Jody (Forest Whitaker) is a British soldier in Northern Ireland who is befriended by Jude (Miranda Richardson) who is an IRA agent. She plans to lure him into a honey trap where he is kidnapped.Jody angry and shocked befriends Fergus (Stephen Rea) one of his kidnappers. They tell stories to each other, Jody talks of his passion for cricket and his girlfriend Dil (Jaye Davidson.) Jody asks Fergus to look up Dil after he is dead.When the times comes Fergus reluctantly takes up the task to shoot him but Jody runs away into the woods and is run over by an army van that was on its way to rescue him and engages in battle with some of the kidnappers.Fergus escapes and arrives to London, gets a job in a building site and finds Dil who works as an hairdresser and performs at a nearby pub. They initially communicate via Col the barman (Jim Broadbent.)Dil is being harassed by a bully called Dave and it is not long before Fergus's IRA comrades arrive. They are angry at him for escaping in the aftermath of the botched hit on Jody. Yet Fergus and Dil still manage to fall in love through all the obstacles that arise.The film has an opening of a kidnap thriller with angry performances from Miranda Richardson and Adrian Dunbar as the IRA operatives. It then deviates to another kind of story, one involving a blossoming romance between essentially two outsiders, damaged in their own ways. Dil grieving over her boyfriend who has been killed but not knowing of Fergus's involvement in it.There are now two Oscar winners in this film. Forest Whitaker's cockney accent makes Dick van Dyke's turn in Mary Poppins into a masterclass of accents. The more subtle performance is from Jim Broadbent as the knowing barman.There is a precocious, vulnerable performance from Jaye Davidson whose hands betray a secret which Fergus failed to pick up on. The film has characters that lacked depth and a third act which was clunky and disappointing as Fergus is lured to another job by his so called IRA friends.

Angelika_New_York I watched this film recently and still to this day after twenty-four years it makes quite an impact. Seeing it on a nice flat screen TV really felt like watching it in a theatre, which is wonderful and the way it's meant to be seen. I remember I first heard of it when I noticed a review of it in a newspaper. At the time, I did not know it was only a few weeks after its release. I didn't know it initially opened in only six theatres across the country. There was a picture above the review, which I never read. At first I thought it was Richard Gere holding a gun in an authoritative pose outside an amusement park.The film was in theatres for the next five months and was nominated for several Academy Awards and ended up making big bank; much bigger than I ever expected. At the time, however, I didn't care at all about box office and awards. The movie poster intrigued me. It looked like something with style, and it definitely has substance.Well I never saw it in theatres. I was only fourteen at the time, so I suppose I was regarded as impressionable.Some time passed, so I did not see it until I was nineteen. I found it mostly boring. I thought the revealing of Dil's (Jaye Davidson) true gender was the most interesting aspect.Then I watched it again a few years later and it was like watching it from a somewhat different perspective. I found it engaging and sympathetic. I suppose it to be relatable at a certain age. Additionally, I am so captivated by how Fergus a.k.a. Jimmy (Stephen Rea) is so assured throughout. He seems emotionally balanced, although I am sure there are moments when he expresses confusion and ferocity; it is evenly displayed. This film has everything: action, drama, romance, and intrigue. Plus there is Jim Broadbent as a sexy bartender. These performances are all the way unforgettable. I have come to a realization that to me, this is the best film of 1992. This was definitely robbed at the Oscars for that year. The two actors deserved their awards, as well as winning Best Picture.

gavin6942 A British soldier is kidnapped by IRA terrorists. He befriends one of his captors, who is drawn into the soldier's world.The then-fledgling film company Miramax decided to promote the film in the United States where it became a sleeper hit, earning over $60 million at the box office. A memorable advertising campaign generated intense public curiosity by asking audiences not to reveal the film's "secret" to their friends. Jordan also believed the film's success was a result of the film's British/Irish political issues being either lesser-known or completely unknown to American audiences, who thus flocked to the film for what Jordan called "the sexual politics." Alright, so I knew the "secret" for years before seeing this film. In fact, that is all I knew and thought it would come later in the picture. I was pleasantly surprised that this film has so much more -- history, political intrigue, thrills, and some crime elements. I have no idea what is up with Whittaker's voice -- he sounds dubbed.

allyatherton An IRA volunteer falls in love with the girlfriend of a dead British soldier.Starring Stephen Rea and Jaye Davidson.Written and directed by Neil Jordan.I really liked this one. It's a great story, full of unexpected twists and surprises and it has two outstanding performances by Stephen Rea and Jaye Davidson. I also love the soundtrack. I'm guessing this was quite a controversial and groundbreaking movie at the time.My only niggle was the cinematography and the location filming. The first part of the film could have been filmed anywhere, And the street scenes looked like they were stolen from Eastenders! And the scenes set on the building site were similarly uninspiring and very studio looking.But overall I really enjoyed this. Lots of tension and a few giggles along the way. A good movie.8/10