The Crying Game

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This wonderful movie is even better on the repeat viewing after the secret was out because you'd pay more attention to the smallest details and enjoy the brilliant storytelling and acting by everyone. Besides Rea, Whitaker, and Miranda Richardson, I'd like to mention Jim Broadbent as a sympathetic bartender Col. For me, though, the absolutely stunning, one of the very best debuts in the movie history was Jaye Davidson who had no movie experience. You know, there are not many characters that I keep thinking about after the movie is over - where did they come from, how their life would turn after the final credits, how would this cruel world treat them, would they be happy? And I want them to be happy. Dil (Davidson) is one of them - what a marvelous creature, how vulnerable yet dignified she is, what a combination of dry remote coolness and quiet tenderness. No wonder, Fergus (Rea) (as Whitaker's Jody before him) fell under her spell even after he found out that nothing is what it seems. Great movie - makes you think, makes you feel, makes you talk about it, makes you want to see it again. 9.5/10

Don't know what all the hype was about. All in all I cried about wasting my time watching this over-hyped film. Did absolutely nothing for me. As for the big surprise, it certainly was not a secret to me. It was telegraphed way ahead of time, so that my reaction at the fateful moment was "is that all there is?". I actually kept watching the rest of the movie since I was expecting something bigger or more shocking. Nothing at all special about this movie.

Highly unusual drama concerning an English soldier (Forest Whitaker) who is kidnapped by an underground Irish Army, eventually befriending his captor (Stephen Rea), which leads to a complicated series of personal entanglements involving the soldier's lover (the mysterious Jaye Davidson). Exceptionally well-made picture from canny director Neil Jordan, who also penned the screenplay and won an Oscar. Too bad the third act is so convoluted, and the final scene so banal, that a slight dissatisfaction clouds the overall result. Nevertheless, a daring and provocative piece with excellent performances. **1/2 from ****

This movie was quite disappointing to watch after reading the reviews saying it was great. I don't understand the allure this film holds on many people. The pace is slow and characters' motivations change after each scene. Stuck it out until the end to see if there was any great twist, but it just laid flat to the credits.

A great movie even if there wasn't that surprise twist. That may even have ruined the movie for some. For those sensitive viewers, just ask a friend to fast forward certain graphic scenes for you, and then you can still enjoy the movie. It's a most touching story of love, loyalty and respect transcending all barriers of race, religion and sexual orientation. The remarkable message here is that all human beings, whoever they are, wherever they come from or whatever their lifestyles, are all equally human. They love, hate, laugh, cry, feel and hurt just like everybody else. So folks, people of the world, love thy neighbors, man! Their hair may be green, their skins may be purple, but their hearts are no different from everybody else's. One of the best movies in a long time. A must see for all except the weak-stomached. All things considered, an absolute 10/10.

This movie is not the average, run of the mill suspense film. It is well acted, with a solid script and very human side to the plot. Jaye Davidson launched a nice career with this surprise. In the end, Crying Game does not take the easy way out and cheat the audience. Neil Jordan made some excellent artistic choices. I am genuinely sorry I missed this film in the theatres and I am pleased I rectified this oversight.

This is a great movie. While "the scene" achieved great notoriety and some think that's all the movie is about, it's really about so much more. The desperation of the Irish to achieve freedom from England is very much on display here. Like other ancient feuds around the globe, the passion on both sides is evident in their willingness to do just about anything to advance their cause(s). It's also a powerful, if strange, story of human love. Complicated, deeply felt, real love. The kind that would make you sacrifice virtually everything to prevent the one you love from suffering pain. Excellent acting makes this a worthwhile investment of time. A film to remember and cherish.

I hadn't seen this film but had heard good things about it and knew the 'twist'. It was shown on Film4's 'Films for Life' season in April 2011 so finally decided to watch it and was astounded by how bad it was. I'm bemused by all the comments here about the good script, good acting, etc because I experienced the exact opposite. The acting was appalling, especially Forest Whitaker and Jaye Davidson; Whitaker's English accent made Dick Van Dyke's Mary Poppins accent look good. It was all over the place, varying from Cockney to Australian to Texan American in one sentence. He was obviously concentrating on the accent as his acting was very hammy. Davidson was perhaps the most wooden and un-natural actor I've ever seen on screen - his happy, sad, drunk, murderous and suicidal were all delivered with the same emotionless deadpan monotone. The dialogue was stilted and full of cliché after cliché. The plot was unreal and relied on suspension of disbelief - apparently English people cannot distinguish between a thick Belfast accent and a Scottish one (wait a minute, that's Americans isn't it?); apparently the IRA plot the assassination of politicians off-the-cuff the day before in the back of a car with a 5 minute run-through and then, when it goes wrong, just wing it and deliberately instigate an OK Corral shoot-out....oh my, such a bad film

"The Crying Game" is one of those films that you see and you talk about for days after you first see it. A genuine shocker at the time of its release, the film was huge in 1992 and earned a Best Picture nomination from the Academy. The film is a complicated puzzle which involves an IRA volunteer (Stephen Rea in his Oscar-nominated role) who is assigned to guard a British soldier (Forest Whitaker). An unlikely friendship develops and when Whitaker is killed, Rea goes to find his girlfriend who is not at all that she seems. There is no point in giving away her secret to those who have not yet seen this film. However, the twists and turns of "The Crying Game" are what make the film work. The movie is flawed in several areas, but overall it is a noble work that ranks real high on the list of other great films of the 1990s. 4.5 out of 5 stars.