The Crying Game

Has the sure grip and the unstoppable momentum of a dream – which are qualities, too of great fairly tales and the most memorable pop songs. [16 Nov 1992, p.127]

From the performances by Rea, Davidson and Whitaker, to Jordan's endlessly original script, to Anne Dudley's melancholy score, and Lyle Lovett's closing rendition of "Stand by Your Man," The Crying Game enthralls and amazes us. It deserves to be called great.

By the time The Crying Game is over, you'll never look at beauty in quite the same way.

An intriguing yarn.

This grade-A sleeper sends you out with an unexpected smile. [25 Nov 1992]

An adroit piece of storytelling from Irish writer-director Neil Jordan that's ultimately less challenging to conventional notions about race and sexuality than it may at first seem... The three leads are first-rate.

Jordan would like us to believe that the three films are stages in a metamorphosis, but the stitching shows… Part Two, explored and expanded, might have made a good film, especially since Davidson gives a quiet, knowledgeable, perfectly poised performance. [14 Dec 1992]

Wow, is this movie bonkers. The story in “The Crying Game” is just completely crazy, but the characters' motivations come through so strongly that their choices feel believable. I am a big fan of the director, Neil Jordan, and he really nails it here. I do not understand why he doesn't have more movie credits. Warning, this movie is for mature audiences only for heavy violence and nudity. I give it a B, next time you’re in the mood for a movie, this one won’t disappoint.

A good story with some strong performances. Some elements lacked believability in my opinion, but it didn't detract from the film. Worth a watch!

Un film certainement atypique sur l’enlèvement d’un soldat par l’IRA, puis ce gars qui noue une relation avec la compagne de ce dernier (le soldat enlevé) ; un gars « terroriste malgré lui » en somme mais pas très futé, le gars, franchement, parce qu’il ne se rend pas compte que quelque chose cloche : tout le monde le sait, tout le monde lui lâche des regards entendus mais lui, il voit rien, putain !… A partir de là, c’est quasiment une comédie romantique (atypique, certes…) qui se révèle cyniquement drôle… mais c’est aussi un film qui a ses lenteurs et ses longueurs (sans jeu de mots !) et qui se traîne quand même comme une sacrée tortue tandis que la musique qui se veut très dramatique fait couiner les violons… En tout cas, j’imagine que ça a fait plaisir à une minorité, d’autant plus que ça date un brin quand même (1992 !) et que l’on était pas encore dans la woke attitude et les agendas SJW très chargés de notre époque actuelle… A noter que le film est évidemment sorti en DVD, puis plus **** en Blu-Ray et qu’à cause d’un connard (un stagiaire sans doute) qui a fait de la merde avec les pistes audio, on se retrouve avec une saloperie de doublage québécois tout pourri… On est donc obligé de se taper la VO et ça fait bien chier quand même !

There are not many films out there that have transgender people within their framework.There have been a few more in recent years but to be honest, to me they look about as unappealing as movies can get. Jaye Davidson is intriguing in TCG on a number of levels-his character poses the question probably quite unintentionally-is transgender all about sexual arrogance or is it about something else. We are not sure how to interpret Jaye's character or how to interpret Jaye for that matter either. That type of thing is a common effect pertaining to the subject of transgender in cinema in general-another transgender person-Caroline Cossey wrote a autobiography book called My Story where she alternately describes getting a sex change to consummate a monogamous relationship and then goes on to say that after the operation she went to Italy to 'have some fun' implying fun and games with multiple partners & that there was nobody special in her life at the time of her operation. To me, that is sexually ambiguous. Might sound like I'm making a mountain out of a molehill but there is nothing I hate more than not being able to pin down where someone is coming from. This movie is regarded as masterpiece of modern cinema noir but to me It kind of just exists, like a potato salad.

This is the movie that began the journey that the best women is actually a man. The boyfriend who dies and asks the protagonist to take care of his "girl" points this out. And the one real woman in the movie gets shot in her breasts. Talk about g@y hatred of biological women - this movie is dripping with that innuendo.