The Crying Game – 1992
This was a very good movie with a small but competent cast. It is about Fergus, played by Stephen Rea, a man with a generally kind heart who gets involved with the Irish Republican Army. He and his fellow soldiers, Peter Maguire, played by Adrian Dunbar, and Jude, played by Miranda Richardson, kidnap and hold for hostage a black British soldier named Jody, played by Forest Whitaker.
Fergus is assigned to guard Jody, but being a good man, he feels sympathy for and befriends him. During their brief friendship, Jody tells Fergus of his girlfriend Dil, and gets him to agree to protect her after his death. But when it comes time to murder him, Fergus cannot do it and lets him run. Unfortunately, Jody runs into the path of a British tank and is instantly killed.
Fleeing the British attack force and his fellow IRA companions, Fergus goes to London to seek out Dil. She is a hairdresser who also sings at a local bar. Without telling Dil of his involvement with the IRA or his relationship with Jody, Fergus pursues her and falls in love with her. But here is where I have to spoil the movie’s big twist. If you plan on watching the movie, stop reading this review. But I have to go into it because it is what turned the film from good to great.
As Fergus and Dil become closer and form a strong emotional bond, it is revealed that Dil is actually a man living as a transvestite. Now, even though I had never seen the film, I already knew this plot twist, so I was expecting it. But it must have been quite a big shock to the audiences of 1992. First of all, they were very shocking in how it was revealed. The audience finds out in the same way that Fergus does. Dil takes off a robe and is completely naked. Fergus is looking up into her eyes, and the camera slowly begins to pan down, following his gaze.
We see her bare chest, but it isn’t immediately apparent what the absence of breasts means. But as soon as Fergus, and the viewing audience for that matter, is confronted with Dil’s manhood, his reaction is immediate and extreme. He slaps her across the face and runs to the bathroom to vomit into the sink.
OK, so that was the big reveal, the big shock. But what I found even more interesting and perfectly portrayed was the fact that Fergus quickly realizes that his emotional connection to Dil was strong enough to make him stay and explore his own boundaries in regards to his sexuality. He could have just run and never looked back. But he didn’t. He had fallen in love with Dil, and was comfortable acknowledging his feelings to himself. He went out of his way to protect her, even when his old IRA buddies show up and threaten to hurt his girlfriend if he doesn’t assassinate a local judge.
The script was so well crafted and engaging. It had some great characters and some top-notch acting. Stephen Rea was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars, though he did not win. His performance was subtle, but it was right for the character. Fergus was a quiet and deeply emotional man. But he habitually kept those strong emotions inside. He was clearly uncomfortable displaying them. Rea’s subtle, and one might say emotionally understated performance was absolutely appropriate.
I also really liked Forest Whitaker as Jody. His screen time was fairly brief, but he is an incredibly skilled actor and he got the emotions of a man who knows he is going to be executed just right. Miranda Richardson was also pretty good, and I especially liked her death scene. I also have to mention a little-known actor who had a minor part as Fergus’ boss at his construction job. Tony Slattery, who I mostly know as a comedian, played the part of a real jerk, the kind of guy nobody would want to work for. I also liked Jim Broadbent as the bartender Col.
And lest I forget, Dil, played by Jay Davidson, did a great job as well. He was incredibly convincing as a woman, as opposed to, say, Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie. He did it without any wigs and if you didn’t know he was actually a man, you might only guess if you were really paying attention. Unfortunately, I knew he was a man before watching the film, and knowing what to look for, I didn’t get the pleasure of the surprise twist.
Still, it was a great movie with an ending that I’m still trying to decide how to interpret. Dil saves Fergus by preventing him from going through with the assassination. Then she shoots and kills Jude when she comes looking for Fergus. And so, to protect Dil, Fergus takes the blame for the murder and goes to jail for a six year sentence. Dil is Fergus’ only visitor during his incarceration. Fergus clearly enjoys her visits, but he continues to show lingering signs of discomfort with his own feelings for her. Still, I liked that Dil promised to wait for her man. But did Fergus love her out of a sense of obligation to Jody? Maybe at first, but by the end, I think he actually loved Dil. I’m not sure if he felt the same romantic love as her, but it was undeniably love of a sort. So, happy ending, right? Right.