The Crying Game (1992)

A British soldier kidnapped by IRA terrorists soon befriends one of his captors, who then becomes drawn into the soldier's world.

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writer:

Neil Jordan

Stars:

Stephen Rea, Jaye Davidson, Forest Whitaker

Won 1 Oscar. Another 21 wins & 46 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Forest Whitaker	...	Jody
Miranda Richardson	...	Jude
Stephen Rea	...	Fergus
Adrian Dunbar	...	Maguire
Breffni McKenna	...	Tinker (as Breffini McKenna)
Joe Savino	...	Eddie
Birdy Sweeney	...	Tommy (as Birdie Sweeney)
Jaye Davidson	...	Dil
Andrée Bernard	...	Jane (as Andree Bernard)
Jim Broadbent	...	Col
Ralph Brown	...	Dave
Tony Slattery	...	Deveroux
Jack Carr	...	Franknum
Josephine White	...	Bar Performer 1
Shar Campbell	...	Bar Performer 2

Storyline

An unlikely kind of friendship develops between Fergus, an Irish Republican Army volunteer, and Jody, a kidnapped British soldier lured into an IRA trap by Jude, another IRA member. When the hostage-taking ends up going horribly wrong, Fergus escapes and heads to London, where he seeks out Jody's lover, a hairdresser named Dil. Fergus adopts the name "Jimmy" and gets a job as a day laborer. He also starts seeing Dil, who knows nothing about Fergus' IRA background. But there are some things about Dil that Fergus doesn't know, either...

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Plot Keywords:

interracial romance | tragic love | psychological drama | kidnapping | irish republican army | 

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Taglines:

Play At Your Own Risk.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, strong violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK Japan USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Soldier's Wife

Filming Locations:

100 Eaton Place, Belgravia, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£2,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$101,107, 29 November 1992, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$62,549,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Palace Pictures,Channel Four Films,Eurotrustees

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Neil Jordan originally intended to title the movie "The Soldier's Wife", but was advised by his friend Stanley Kubrick to change it. Kubrick recommended this change because he believed that films with either religious or military titles usually deterred audiences and were often financial failures (something that Jordan had experienced when his religiously-titled movies The Miracle (1991) and We're No Angels (1989) flopped at the box office). Jordan selected the new title from a 1960s hit British pop song.

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Goofs

During the street assassination scene a sub-machine gun is used to attack officials entering a car; however, despite the wild spray of bullets and several officials on both sides of the car being hit, no glass breaks in any of the windows and there is no indication of any damage to the body of the car.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jody: [playing ring toss at a carnival] Right.
[tosses a ring]
Jody: That.
[tosses a ring]
Jody: And that. And that is cricket, hon.
Jody: [wins a large teddy bear] Do you want it?
Jude: Sure!
Jody: [hands her the teddy bear] Doesn't matter if you don't. You know I won't be offended. Jody's never offended. What'd you say your name was?
Jude: Jude.
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Home Improvement: The Flirting Game (1997)

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Soundtracks

Live For Today
Composed by Cicero
Copyright Control
Performed by Cicero
Produced by Pet Shop Boys
Recording Courtesy of Spaghetti Recordings Ltd.

User Reviews

The Moving Film

Here is a really deep & touching movie. Dil sings (& moves her hands about like a classical Indian dancer rather distractingly) "I know all about the crying game" we know that she knows. It drips out of her voice, it rolls down her cheek, it stares out of her eyes. She knows she has lost her best chance in life - the only man to love her was killed in Ireland. Yet when she meets Stephen Rea the man who, unknown to her, was responsible for her lover's (Forest Whitaker) death in Ireland, hope again rises in her. She will hold on to Rea for her life for in him she sees a 'gentleman' very like Whitaker. But Rea is not the only one with a secret. Dil has one too & that gives the movie the tension, irony & ultimately the tragedy which sets it apart from any IRA/ star-crossed lovers/ hostage drama that I have seen. When Dil tells Rea that she knows he is lying but all the same she likes to hear him say that he loves her it moves everyone in the audience.

The performances (Adrian Dunbar as the ruthless leader, Miranda Richardson as the cold, teasing assassin & Jim Broadbent as the bartender, not to mention Rea, Dil & Whitaker) are brilliant, the atmosphere is electric & the score is haunting. The only points that rankle are Whitaker's dream-sequence appearances looking like a model in a detergent ad & Dil's suddenly-acquired shooting skills which brings the movie to its horrific climax.

A brilliant movie with layers & layers of depth, & comparable to Jordan's earlier 'Mona Lisa'. That is saying a lot because Mona Lisa walks into my Top 50 movies without even knocking!