Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It begins like a political thriller and develops into a romantic drama but what's most remarkable about "The Crying Game" is its incredible originality. It's essentially a piece about what it is to be human and the extent to which an individual's nature determines the directions that they take in life. The story that illustrates this is a real "one-off" and features a group of interesting characters whose awareness of their own nature and that of other people, varies considerably. The events depicted and the issues raised must've been challenging for many audiences at first and so it's rather surprising that in the years since the release of this film, that there haven't been more mainstream movies which have ventured into the same territory.During "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland, a British soldier called Jody (Forest Whitaker) befriends local girl Jude (Miranda Richardson) and after having some fun at a fairground, decides to move to somewhere a little quitter where they can be more intimate. As soon as they find a suitable spot, Jody finds himself being held at gunpoint and realises that he's been lured into a trap. He's taken hostage by an IRA cell whose members want to negotiate a prisoner exchange with the British Army and tell him that he'll be executed if their plan doesn't succeed within three days.In a remote country location, cell-member Fergus (Stephen Rea) is assigned to the task of guarding Jody and in the hours that follow, an unlikely friendship develops between them during which Jody shows Fergus a photograph of his girlfriend in London. The soldier, who's obviously convinced that his guard is a kind and decent man, says that if he's executed, he'd like Fergus to look up his girlfriend, buy her a maguerita and tell her that Jody was thinking of her. Fergus promises to do this and when it becomes evident that no prisoner exchange is going to be possible and Fergus will have to carry out the execution, what follows illustrates that Jody's judgement of what Fergus' nature will allow him to do, was completely accurate. Jody is, nevertheless, killed during the mayhem that follows when the Army suddenly raid the location where he'd been held hostage. Fergus is fortunate to escape and makes his way to London where he assumes a new identity, gets a job working on building site and locates Jody's girlfriend, Dil (Jaye Davidson), who's a hairdresser in Millie's Hair Salon. After availing himself of Dil's services for "a trim", he goes to the Metro (a pub which Jody had told him that Dil frequents) where they strike up a conversation and subsequently become an item. They both withhold important information about themselves and inevitably some of the revelations that follow cause problems which are not made any easier to resolve when Jude suddenly arrives from Ireland and threatens that Dil will suffer unless Fergus agrees to take part in a planned assassination which Fergus immediately recognises is nothing short of a suicide mission"The Crying Game" is skilfully written with each development following on very naturally from what preceded it. This is quite an achievement because some of the twists are extraordinary and shocking and the characters and their relationships are continuously full of surprises. The quality of the acting is exceptional throughout with Stephen Rea standing out as the naïve Fergus who initially has virtually no awareness of his own nature and then struggles to deal with the situations he finds himself in. Forest Whitaker is fascinating as the cricket-loving soldier from Tottenham because, whilst he clearly has considerable insight into the significance of an individual's nature, its never entirely clear in his exchanges with Fergus, whether there's an element of manipulation involved. Jaye Davidson is brilliantly cast as the mysterious Dil who, although appearing confident, is actually vulnerable and needy and Miranda Richardson is faultless as the ruthless terrorist, Jude."The Crying Game" is absolutely compelling to watch because it's so different, so affecting and such a human story. It's also very thought-provoking and the title song is ideal because its haunting quality fits the atmosphere of the piece so perfectly.

An IRA thug who falls for his prisoner's girlfriend. That's about as direct as it gets when it comes to summarizing "The Crying Game" (at least as far DVD cover blurbs go). But it's much more than that. Fate, deception, guilt, love - it's about all of those as well, but to discount it as centering on the twist is completely unfair. To me, the best thing about this movie is that it ended up being entirely different from how it began. And along the way, there are great performances (Stephen Rea and Jaye Davidson, in particular), striking cinematography and engaging direction to its credit.Note: If you've ever seen a certain Jim Carrey movie, then you know the twist I'm talking about. The reason I bring this up is because the movie stands on its own very well despite this spoiler, and remains absolutely worth seeing.7/10

Just like a stinging slap to the face - 1992's "The Crying Game" gleefully delivered its "surprise twist" with the heavy-handed blow of a true sadist..... I would easily say that this "club-one-over-the-head" surprise-twist business was undoubtedly the only real reason why anyone would ever remember "The Crying Game", which I found to be a disappointingly poor excuse for a movie if there ever was one.These cheap, sensationalistic tactics that were meant to surprise the audience quickly brought a fairly intriguing story that initially concerned IRA hostage-taking, and whatnot, to an absolute dead-halt. And from that point on-wards, "The Crying Game" literally wallowed in its "surprise twist" for the remainder of the story.With there being no mercy in sight - "The Crying Game" was shamelessly "trans"-formed (hint-hint) into a less-than-satisfying soap opera, where those trite, crass words "I love you" were only to be spoken with any real sincerity at the point of a gun.... And so, with that - It was shame-shame on "The Crying Game".... (sniffle-sniffle)

Released in 1992, The Crying Game was considered to be one of the most controversial films of its time, and it featured one of the most well-kept secret plot twists in movie history. This film was criticized in both the UK, where it was filmed, and in America, but for entirely different reasons. Within the UK, The Crying Game was not well- received because of the underlying political issues, particularly the sympathetic portrayal of an IRA agent. In the U.S., the film was criticized mainly for what director Neil Jordan referred to as "sexual politics." These specific elements, however, were precisely what drew audiences to the film. Neil Jordan's outstanding film deals with important themes of race, nationality, gender, and sexuality in a way that has opened my mind to a whole new approach to filmmaking. I have a tremendous appreciation for the way this film pushed boundaries, not for the sake of shock value but because it was absolutely essential for telling this story. It is my belief that artists should to be able to freely express themselves in their work, however contentious it may be. Controversial topics like those in The Crying Game should be embraced and celebrated rather than shied away from.