MovieChat Forums > The Crying Game (1993) Discussion > Am I the only person who thought this wa...

Am I the only person who thought this was a very average film?

posted 17 years ago by Mylo_Milk
16 replies | jump to latest

I don't normally find myself in a position so far off the general consensus of reviewers and critics regarding a film. Sometimes I think a film is not quite as good as they consider it to be, and sometimes I think one is much better, but I am just at a loss to understand why this film was so widely praised - it's got a 100% fresh rating at rottentomatoes.com!!! That means not ONE SINGLE negative review!

I saw it for the first time last night. All I really knew about 'The Crying Game' was that it was a big deal in its hey-day, nominated for several awards and supposed to be pretty good. I was not aware there was a 'twist' in the plot, and nor did I pick up on it before *that* scene. The successful pulling off of that surprise, and the performance by Stephen Rea, are the only positive things I can concede to. The rest, I thought, was rubbish.

Especially Forest Whitaker's performance (was that a serious attempt at an English accent? I couldn't figure out what the hell he was supposed to be - it was only in the scenes where he'd been kidnapped by the IRA and they explicitly made that clear that I could figure out he was a British soldier), and Miranda Richardson's efforts - mainly at the end when she was donning her brown bob wig and trying in vain to look tough with that gun... it was like some low budget spy flick. I couldn't take her seriously.

Just wondering whether anyone else out there feels the same way... or whether I've just totally missed the point?

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] tisket 11 years ago

I disagree. Whitaker was amazing. Maybe the accent want perfect, but did he not make you feel he was someone you would never want the IRA to kill? Didn't you feel the bond he made with Rea's character? The entire movie is dependent on how Whitaker makes the audience feel about his character.

[–] skiop 15 years ago

it's got a 100% fresh rating at rottentomatoes.com

I hate rotten tomatoes! It would be better if they actually got good, respectable critics. As it stands, metacritic.com is much better.

[–] maniuis 12 years ago

Nope. You're not alone. This movie stinks!

[–] ansbro-2 12 years ago

No, you're not alone.
There are lots of people with very average intelligence.
Take a course in statistics !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[–] CasseroleWorshipper 12 years ago

I agree. Ineffective and slow.
I don't mean to impose, but I am the Ocean.

[–] skyblazeeterno 11 years ago

Good points.

I enjoyed the film as it changed from some serious thing about IRA and kidnapping to some kind of weird love story. I knew about the twist from a long long time ago so was kind of watching to see how they pulled it off and if I could fall for the "girl" and would it be believable (not really imho) the twist doesnt really affect the plot at all imho and the reaction to the revelation was almost ho-hum so you're a man. Actually I think the film falters once the 2 IRA members arrive and give Fergus a job to do and seems kind of tacked on. Good film but similar movie M Butterfly handles the same twist far better imho and its actually vital to the ending

[–] Pythe 11 years ago

I just watched it for the first time and liked it quite a bit. It doesn't go where you would expect a movie with this first act to go. It's a challenging movie in many ways, almost daring you to like it.

Admittedly the filmmaking is dated and some of the acting isn't up to par, but I found myself pulled into the world Neil Jordan had created almost against my better judgment.

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"People either loved us or they hated us...or they thought we were okay."

[–] er-usmani 10 years ago

Below average

your name is lebowski, lebowski!; your life is funny

[–] seahawk3133 10 years ago

OP - You aren't the only one...

The character development of Stephen Rea's character was the highlight of the movie, but the other aspects of it seems unexciting to me. When the movie ended, I was left thinking that there was potential to be a great movie but it came very short

Worth watching, but temper your expectations
6 / 10

[–] Simplythebest11962 9 years ago

I thought the beginning of the movie was too slow. It stalled too much. It would've been much more interesting to have the relationship between Fergus & what's his name develop. I felt the ending could've been a great beginning for a sequel.

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