Neil Jordan:"The Crying Game" (1992)

The Crying Game was heavily marketed based on its story's "secret" -- "the movie no one is talking about," quipped one news magazine about the burden of knowing the big revelation. The hype helped fill a lot of seats, but it's still a good twist -- if it hasn't been spoiled for you -- in a challenging, daring film. Writer/director Neil Jordan earned a well-deserved Academy Award for the expertly written script, which starts as a tense thriller and winds its way into a unique and engrossing love story. It is backed by the strong performance of Jordan regular Stephen Rea as Fergus, as well as excellent supporting turns from Miranda Richardson and Forest Whitaker, and a striking (to say the least) debut by Jaye Davidson as Dil. The Crying Game is much more than a mere setup for a shock. While Fergus must escape his own past, physically and emotionally, he and Dil enjoy a quirky romance that must survive the powerful revelations each has in store for the other, a romance that would be intriguing regardless of "the secret" at its core. Indeed, as strong as The Crying Game is as a thriller, it is even stronger as a study of people, their relationships, and, ultimately, human nature.

Posted in: Cult,movies