In the 1990s B. Ruby Rich describes that Queer cinema appeals to the norm and that it’s completely marketable. Transgender persons feel that Queer cinema provides a voice for them and that film provides the perfect medium which gives them exposure. Neil Jordan’s The Crying Game is one such film. Jordan, an Irish born producer and writer is known for his historical drama Michael Collins (1996) and the drama Mona Lisa (1986). The Crying Game is about an IRA member Fergus, who falls in love with the girlfriend (Dil) of a British soldier he kidnapped and murdered in Ireland. While guarding the prisoner, Jody (the British soldier) and Fergus forms an unlikely friendship and promises to look up Jody’s girlfriend if Jody is killed. Jody ends up dying and Fergus escapes a British military raid and flees to London. Suffering from guilt at the death of Jody, Fergus tracks Dil and ends up falling in love with her.
**Spoiler alert! Dil invites Fergus up to her flat and they are about to make love when Dil reveals she is transgender. The scene is heart wrenching and while Fergus vomits in disgust, Dil is devastated by his revulsion. Meanwhile the IRA tracks Fergus down and requests him to fulfill a mission, to assassinate a London Judge and if he doesn’t comply then his girlfriend Dil will be killed. Fergus still has feelings for Dil and he tries to protect her from the IRA.
This film helps us rethink gender identities and places into context female sexuality and whether trans genders try to deceive or pass as women. This is a complex film on so many levels and full of multiple deceptions. Dil, the transgender female does not hide the fact that she is transgender; she lives her life as a female without explanation. It was Fergus who walked into her world and naively expected her to be what he believed to be a ‘natural’ woman and seduces her. Before Dil’s reveal, the audience was under the assumption that Dil was a female by stereotypically identifying her as female by her appearance and mannerisms. Contrariwise the ‘natural’ woman in the movie, Jude, an IRA member uses her sexuality to deceive and capture the British soldier. Fergus himself deceives Dil, he gives her a false name and lies to her about knowing Jody.
Julia Serano, a transgender person feels that people classify gender base on visual cues and a ton of assumption. This is evident in The Crying Game.
I would classify this movie as an action thriller and I would highly recommend it. I would also recommend the source reading by Julia Serrano, it is very enlightening.
Great soundtrack.
Sources:
Class notes, Dr. Emer O’Toole’s slides.
Serrano, Julia. “Skirt Chaser: Why the Media Represents the Trans Revolution in Lipstick and Heels.” Whipping Girl. NY: Seal Press, 2007. P 33-52.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vs_4-QQACo