A ‘Crying’ Shame

Ahhh! Another “Crying Game” letter! It is a two-parter:

1--Critics love it, but many “average folk” that I’ve talked to seem bored by it except to talk about the plot twist. Without this twist, would anyone have been talking about this movie at all? A long, boring interrogation, followed by IRA violence, followed by the search for a dead man’s lover. This film was on snooze control until the “revelation,” when it suddenly became a polemic on tolerance, or loyalty, or something.

There was a plot twist but barely any plot.

2--Concerning the public hand-wringing among critics over whether to reveal the plot twist, capped by Roger Ebert’s public denunciation of Gene Siskel: By this time, haven’t most people who are even slightly “film aware” already seen this movie? If they haven’t, maybe they just don’t care. These critics seem to be concerned about an imaginary segment of the population that can’t get out to a movie theater while holding their ears, saying, “Don’t tell me!”

The title song says it all: “I’ve had my fill of the crying game.”

BUDDE LAROSE

Los Angeles