The Crying Game" (1992) tells the story of Fergus, an IRA operative, whose life is thrown off course after he kidnaps and subsequently befriends a British soldier. The film was fairly radical for the time period in its portrayal of sexuality and gender, also delving into themes of racism and colonialism.
I am of two minds about "The Crying Game." While writer and director Neil Jordan earnestly attempts to explore these somewhat taboo subjects, he is not always successful. "The Crying Game" asks its audience to question traditional ideas about gender, but ultimately deals with these themes on a superficial level. Nonetheless, the film's complexity - even when not fully developed - calls for further analysis.
"The Crying Game" opens at a carnival just outside Belfast. Female IRA operative Jude romances Jody, the British soldier, in order to facilitate his capture by Fergus and the rest of their comrades. The group hopes to use Jody as a bargaining chip to achieve the release of another IRA member.
Neil Jordan's writing and direction shine in the unlikely friendship between Fergus and Jody, played by Stephen Rea and Forest Whitaker, respectively. Jody quickly transitions from viewing Fergus as a captor to viewing him as an ally. When he first speaks to Fergus, he says, "You're gonna have to [kill me], aren't you?" Yet by the end of his captivity, Jody seems to separate Fergus from the rest of the IRA members, asking him for a favor in case "they kill" him. Specifically, Jody wants Fergus to contact his girlfriend in England. When the IRA's demands are not met, Fergus must kill Jody. His hesitancy allows Jody to run away, only to be hit and killed by an army tank that is presumably there to rescue him. Thus, neither the audience nor Fergus himself can know whether he would have actually shot Jody or not.
Through Jody and Fergus' friendship, the film explores issues of race. Jody, a British national born in Antigua, is hated by the Irish people he encounters both for being British and for being black. He says that Ireland is "the one place in the world where" people will call someone a racial slur to his face, as opposed to behind his back. This introduces the idea of underlying versus explicit racism. However, this is not further developed and is largely absent for the rest of the film.
After Jody's death, Fergus moves to England and locates Jody's girlfriend, Dil. Despite his initial intentions, Fergus eventually falls in love with her, and they begin a relationship. Fergus' view of Dil is shattered when he discovers that she is transgender. This is the film's analytical meat and - to its credit - it confronts sexuality and gender identity head on during a time where there was very little mainstream transgender representation. Nonetheless, its exploration of this theme is still somewhat limited. Fergus continues to care for and potentially even love Dil, but he does not allow Dil to express her love toward him and never truly sees her the same way again. Dil's revelation shocks Fergus, and the film expects the audience to be shocked as well. Queer theorist Judith Halberstam has argued that the assumption that the audience will react similarly to Fergus reinforces rather than subverts gender and sexual norms. While Dil is a dynamic character, she is always "the other."
The film does succeed in subtly examining gender through naming. Jude, Jody and Dil all have gender ambiguous names, and each behave counter to gender stereotypes. Jude takes on a traditionally masculine role as a paramilitary, and Jody and Dil challenge heteronormative ideals through their relationship.
Despite its attempts at subversion, when viewed today - in an era where these issues are seeing more public discourse and at least a little more progress - "The Crying Game" provides a relatively conservative viewpoint.
Next week's film: "Breakfast on Pluto."
Megan Clark is a senior who is majoring in English and history. She can be reached at Megan.Clark@tufts.edu.
