Stephen Rea plays Fergus, an IRA soldier who grows attached to a hostage named Jody (Forest Whitaker) he is ultimately expected to kill. After events turn even more nasty for the unit, Fergus flees and ends up making a new life for himself in London. He seeks out Jody’s romantic partner, and everything he does is guided by having had that intense relationship with him. Before long, his old life starts to come back to him.
It’s a tense drama with welcome moments of humour and whimsy.
Miranda Richardson is excellent as the oddly terrifying Jude, an IRA member who is used to snare the hostage. It’s also good to see Tony Slattery and Jim Broadbent in the cast.
I like the way The Crying Game manages to subvert all expectations by turning into a different kind of film about halfway through but then ultimately bringing the two threads back together. Race, gender, sexuality, nationality and morality are all considered, but never in a heavy-handed way. Instead, these themes grow naturally from the engrossing plot and convincing characters.
No comments:
Post a Comment