The $5 million independent film ts the sleeper hit of 1993.

The Crying Game kee
(Miramax Films) Rated 14 years -
(Esplanade Six, Royal Centre
and Station Square Cinemas)

SECLUDED country,
cottage. A warm
‘summer day. Being

waited on hand and foot.

Ah yes, people have paid big
“bucks for such an idyllic retreat.
But Jody (Forest Whitaker) didn’t

. have to. For this British soldier, it’s
free, Well, OK, there is a catch.
It’s only going to last three days
and as well as being waited on
hand and foot, he’s bound hand
and foot.

And then his captors will ex-
ecute him.

That is unless Jody can get one
‘of the IRA volunteers to cut him a
little slack. Fergus Hennessy
(Stephen Rea) seems the least
committed guard, so the soldier
begins working his way under the
likable Irishman’s skin. It’s a sim-
ple game called “getting to know

Sports chat and-jokes, regu-
he “smal talk — but for the
frightened black soldier in the
hands of militant whites, it's life
and death.

And that’s just the first reel. As
you may have heard, there are .
more than a few surprises in store
that send the movie spinning off in
" unexpected directions. A close-
lipped secrecy has grown around
the plot developments so don’t ”
expecl me to break the unwritten
code.

The mostly unknown cast in-
cludes several stand-out perfor-
mances. Jaye Davidson is especial-
ly touching, while Miranda
Richardson (Damage, Enchanted
April is chilling as the cruellest of
the ringleaders,

The entire cast is terrific, right
down to the supporting roles.
There's never been a friendlier
bartender than Col (Jim Broad-
bent} or a more pathetic jealous
lover than Dave (Ralph Brown).

Neil Jordan’s script refines even
these stock characters.

With A Company of Wolves and
Mona Lisa, director Neil Jordan
proved his wit and intelligence,
but this offbeat romantic thriller is
his masterpiece.

(Good news, Jordan has been
tapped to direct Anne Rice's script
of her richly detailed gothic

Lo . . Photo submitted
STEPHEN REA (left) and Miranda Richardson in a scene from Neil Jordan’s ‘The Crying Game.”

Neil Jordan's masterpiece

‘Tim Bell

FILIA REVIEW

bestseller, Interview with a Vam-
pire. Something to look forward
to.)

Wilt & *%& & % (Astral Home
Video) Rated Mature

Is it any worider teacher. Henry.
Wilt (Griff Rhys jones) daydreams
of murdering his spouse, Eva
{Alison Steadman) after she insists

The view may be priceless,
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he act like he has a clenched col-
on?

He even mentally mapped out
an elaborate scheme that will have
the ineffective police force stumbl-
ing about in their usual dither for
weeks. But no one is more sur-
prised than he is when his wife
suddenly disappears.

The writing from Tom Sharpe's
novel is particularly skilled, fal of
pith and vinegar with wonderful
phrases like “verbal contor-
tionist’’ and “logic chopper.”

But there’s slapstick hilarity too,
especially in a deliriously

demented scene where the naked -

- Jones tries to escape while tied to
Angelique, an inflatable doll.
Once seen, never forgotten.

Showtime Hotline: Famous
Players 681-4255 Cineplex
Odeon 687-1515

singie/double occupancy

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Sat., March 6,
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Ticket Holders quatify for
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