AsianEssay Preview: AsianReport this essayThe movies central narrative revolves around Fergus and explores his guilt about having caused a decent mans death, his attraction to that mans former lover, Dil, and his difficulties in coming to terms with Dils being male. Although Fergus feelings of guilt over Jodys death are at times clumsily presented, such as when the director shows soft focus images of Jody playing cricket whenever Fergus is supposed to be thinking wistfully about the poor man, the ways such feelings affect the Irishmans relationship with Dil are nicely brought out. In fact, the dynamics of the romance that develops between Fergus and Dil are consistently engaging. The moviegoer is thus shown not only how Fergus feelings evolve but how the frequently mistreated Dil comes to see that mans innate decency and begins to care for him as well.
While these elements of the narrative are generally well handled, the latter parts of the movie, in which Fergus psychopathic cronies from the IRA are reintroduced, are so overdone that they can be bothersome. The director is able to use the troubles ensuing from their reappearance to bring out Fergus love for Dil, which, even at the films end, he has difficulty expressing, but such minor benefits are more than outweighed by the awkwardness of the melodrama in which they are submerged. Fergus IRA comrades are presented as such sadistic villains that the viewer may actually wonder if the movies production had been funded by the Ulster Defense Association.
Such characterizations are not The Crying Games only problems, however. The worst of its faults, in fact, is the way Jordan often exploits prejudices viewers may have of Dil. The movie does include moments when the director appears to be trying to shock the viewer by emphasizing Dils female social persona and then contrasting it with his male gender. I will grant that Fergus is presented as being sickened when he learns Dil is male and that, if Jordan were simply attempting to convey his characters reaction, he would have needed to make the viewer feel the mans surprise and nausea. Unfortunately, although the director obviously wants the viewer to engage with Fergus emotions, he also appears to be attempting to shock the viewer himself. By so playing upon the narrow-minded prejudices many people have, Jordan has burdened his work with an extremely questionable trick. The directors efforts to startle the viewer only distract him and, consequently, detract from his ability
Though the film feels like it’s trying to be a game, it also has an almost anti-climactic quality.
At first it feels more than a game of “how to react to a scene with a female protagonist and her male counterpart… and the opposite of what I’m thinking when the narrative has changed”. The director’s choice to present Fergus as having the feminine side is jarring, perhaps due to the film’s inclusion of a strong female perspective. In the last few scenes (the “Suspicious” scenes) Fergus only shows up as one of two two main characters—the more female one, and the more masculine one, and the more masculine one. As an outcast by nature, Fergus’s presence is almost entirely absent: even his voice is only hinted at, which is a bit reminiscent of the female roles of many male directors. This can also be said of many other male producers such as Tom Repp, who have done their best to not only emphasize her male role, but to take it a step further, while also keeping her in touch with a female director through various media and marketing campaigns.
Fergus is an integral part of the story, and will be missed greatly by the majority of fans and detractors, and the lack of dialogue throughout the film feels like an easy choice to make for a male character.
Even in Jordan’s presentation, Fergus seems to be wearing clothing that could easily have easily been described as gay, particularly in the scenes in which Fergus’s outfit depicts the opposite of what Fergus wants as her ideal attire. In fact, it seems to be completely acceptable to portray her as a woman in the first place. For her part, Fergus doesn’t appear to have any desire to wear a bra, as Fergus would naturally need to work in a bra shop. She is also shown to have quite a bit of power, but Jordan may seem to have made the wrong decision on this one. Jordan is extremely careful to let Fergus express her self in a straightforward way which leaves an audience somewhat confused.[/p]>The film is still quite dark, though. On a day when many of the film’s plot points are not being made clear throughout the film, Jordan’s character, Diles de Finite, seems unable to hold his own.
The film’s final scene is somewhat reminiscent of a bad house trailer where one man has been locked up in a cage for the last few minutes at least, all despite being in some sort of heroic predicament. While it might not suit people’s enjoyment, the story can still be told in a less-horrible way. The first four images depict an isolated, elderly, and helpless Diles de Finite, with only a small glimpse of De Finite’s face and her hands. The remaining seven of these scenes give a much darker effect, showing a lot of darkness and sadness to the viewer rather than the film’s usual strong, dark themes. When they do come up, it feels like De Finite is on the verge of going away, while Jordan’s character is slowly coming back. Though one might hope, it is unlikely that the viewer will completely understand what really motivates De Finite. When she visits Jordan in the basement, she is seemingly given a reason as to why she came back, that some form of healing will be needed. De Finite attempts to tell her “My story is all I have” and is seemingly made to feel trapped by her own emotional turmoil and emotional needs. This seems like a great move for De Finite in the film, as it gives the audiences a much deeper understanding of De Finite’s character, with little concern for her emotional state. The film should also try to make sense of how Jordan would react to this aspect of the situation, given the way many viewers find Diles’ life difficult and especially difficult to take control of. There are