The Crying Game, 1993

                                                               Summary of Film

 

 

Resources for Teaching Film

Fergus: Stephen Rea               Dil:    Jaye Davidson

Jody:   Forest Whitaker           Jude:   Miranda Richardson

        Adrian Dunbar             Bartender: Jim Broadbent

Written and Directed: Neil Jordan

 

1. THE SET-UP.

 

0:24   Title sequence.  ELS of carnival.  Setting is Northern Ireland.  Music begins: "When a man loves a woman, can't keep his mind on nothin' else . . ."  Camera pans under a pedestrian bridge across a river.  Ferris wheel turns in the distance.  Song continues. 

 

CHAPTER 2

 

High angle of Jody and Jude.  Jody wins a big white teddy bear at a ring toss.  "And that's cricket!" he exclaims.  He's a black Englishman wearing Levi's.  She is a white Irish woman wearing a Levi jacket and tight short skirt.  "Jody's never offended," he remarks at one point. He walks away with her.  He hugs her tight--apparently he has just met her at the carnival.  Note in the right of the frame a small man (Fergus) wearing a black jacket watches them from a distance. He follows them left across the frame.  He is dressed in a peacoat.  His black hair is long and disheveled.  Jody goes to the outdoor bathroom--which is inside a small tent.  Fergus, the man in black, watches him--from his pov.  Jude holds his hand while he pisses inside the tent. "Never pissed while holding a girl's hand, Jude," Jody says.  She shoots a look at Fergus.  He grimaces.  "It's nice," he says when he comes out.  Then he kisses her passionately.  Fergus watches them.  She drags Jody away--an invitation to more foreplay.  He follows her away from the carnival.  Camera at high angle as they walk away into ELS range.

 

2. THE KIDNAPPING.  4:40

           

            Exterior scene past the pedestrian bridge far from the carnival scene.  Jude leads Jody under a railroad bridge.  Fergus crosses the pedestrian bridge: he's following them.  Jude flops down on a soft spot among some fishing nets for the sexual encounter. "Come and get me, soldier."  He falls on her and begins to kiss her and pull at her crotch.  Suddenly Fergus is upon them.  He cocks his weapon.  Jody looks up.  Fergus kicks him in the face and Jody falls off Jude.  Two other men come out of nowhere.  One pulls a black hood over Jody's face.  The men pull him up and drag him across the bridge.  Camera moves right to show Jude running away in the distance.

 

3.  THE SECRET LOCATION  5.48

 

            In the back seat of a small car.  Jody is lying in the back between the seats.  "What's your name, soldier?"  "Fuck you!"  Exterior shows the car pulling into a remote location, what appears to be an abandoned farm.  A motorcycle pulls in behind the car.  Inside the building, we see Jude is the motorcyclist.  She takes off her helmet and her long hair falls loose.  The kidnappers are gathered around.  The leader, Peter, announces, "You're being held hostage by the Irish Republican Army."  He notes the threat: after three days, either one of the IRA men held by the English will be let go, or this British soldier (Jody) will be killed.  "Give him a cup of tea," Fergus says. 

            Later, Jude comes in with some tea and sandwiches.  She asks Jody if he wants some.  Jody sits with the hood over his face.  But he doesn't speak. 

 

4. THE MAN IN THE HOOD.  7.46

 

            Interior of a greenhouse next to the building.  Fergus and Jude are watching Jody that night.  He holds the light on Jody.  Fergus asks Jude, "What's he like?" "Horny bastard."  "Did you give him it?"  "There's certain things I wouldn't do for my country."  Fergus asks her to "poke him," to see if he is all right.  He's concerned because Jody hasn't moved in twelve hours.  "Go on.  Have a heart."  So Jude stands over him and kicks him with her foot.  She leans forward and lifts the hood a few inches.  Cut to another view of the two--suddenly Jody leaps to his feet, the hood flies off, and he lands on top of her (although his hands are held by handcuffs).  "You fuckin' bitch!" he screams.  He is face to face with her.  Suddenly two men are pulling him off her.  They put the hood back over his head.

            Jude stalks outside and squirms in disgust that this man touched her.  Fergus comes out.  "Fuckin' animal," she snaps.  He comes over to her and consoles her.  "Tough work that is," he says.  "It's a breeze.  I just thought of you," she says.  She turns toward him and kisses him warmly.

 

CHAPTER 4. 

 

5. "THANK YOU, HANDSOME"  9.56 

 

            Exterior scene next morning.  Fergus leads Jody out to a greenhouse on the property.  Inside, Fergus sits across from and urges him to eat something.  Finally, Fergus lifts the hood a bit and hands him some of a candy bar.  Jody squirms and cries, "This is a farce!  I seen your fucking face!"   "So what do I look like?"  "You're the one about 5'10" and the killer smile..." (Reaction shot Fergus) "... and the baby face.  And the brown eyes." Fergus looks shaken by this last detail.  Cut to Jody:  You're the handsome one."  Reaction shots of Fergus: she smiles.  Fergus gives him more food.  "Thank you, handsome."  "My pleasure."

            Later that day Jude comes in with a tray of food.  Jody pleads with Fergus to take off the hood.  "If we take the hood off, we have to shoot you," Jude says.  "Can't we take it off," Fergus asks Jude.  She tells him to check with the leader.

            Fergus asks Peter, the leader, if he can take the hood off.  "He's seen our faces."  Peter says okay--as long as Fergus is the only one he sees. 

 

CHAPTER 5

 

6.  JODY INTRODUCES FERGUS TO DIL  13:13 

 

            So Fergus relieves Jude and takes the hood off.  Music up.  High angle of Jody.  He looks up at Fergus.  Note backgrounds of the two men: the brick wall behind Jody and the tangled vines behind Fergus.  Jody sucks air and blinks as he looks up into the light.  "Thank you, soldier."  Fergus stands apart from him.  Jody kids him and says Fergus isn't as good looking as he said before.  "You're no pinup."  "Are you trying to hurt my feelings?"  We can hear the sound of a helicopter passing by.  Jody says he knows they will kill him.  "They'll let him out," Fergus says (about the IRA man they are trying to trade for Jody).  Jody says it isn't the nature of "your people" to let him go.  "What the fuck do you know about my people!" Fergus challenges.  Jody screams, "It's not in your nature to let me go." 

            Jody changes the subject.  "I didn't even fancy her."  He's talking about Jude.  "She's not my type," Jody says.  Cut to Jody.  He waves his head.  "Come here."  He wants to show something to Fergus.  Fergus moves toward him.  Then we see them together in the frame.  Notice how the camera tilts to the right to create an oblique angle.  Fergus reaches inside Jody's pocket and takes out his wallet.  He holds his gun at Jody's head.  Music up.  Fergus takes out a picture--Jody in a cricket uniform.  "There's another," he says.  "Now she's my type," he says.

            Cut to an insert CU of the photograph of Dil and Jody.  Dil is an attractive black woman.  Cut to the two-shot.

            FERGUS:    She'd be anybody's type.

            JODY:        Don't you think of it, fucker!

            FERGUS:    Why not?

            JODY:        She's mine.  Anyway, she wouldn't suit

                                      you.

            FERGUS:    No?

            JODY:        Absolutely not!

            FERGUS:    She your wife?

Insert close-up of the photo.

            JODY:        I guess you could say that.

Wide shot of the two men, oblique camera angle.

            FERGUS:    You make a nice couple.

            JODY:        Don't I know it.

            FERGUS:    So what were you fuckin' around for?

            JODY:        You fuckers set me up.

 

            Fergus moves away from Jody again, and we reestablish the parallel cutting of the earlier section.  Jody tells the story of how Jude entrapped him.  He met her in a bar.  But he is angriest about being sent from England to Northern Ireland as a soldier.  Why did he sign up for the military? "It's a job."  He complains that he was sent "to the one place where they call you 'nigger' to you face."  "Don't take it personally," Fergus says. Fergus seems to enjoy this interaction. 

            He moves closer to Jody.  Now he is sitting next to him (a pillar between them) and the two men argue about what is the best game in the world, the English cricket or the Irish hurling.  The two men are facing in the same direction.  Fergus isn't holding the weapon on Jody.  Then Jody tells Fergus about how he was taught cricket by his father.  "So when you come to shoot me, Paddy, remember you're getting rid of a shit-hot bowler."  Then Fergus stands up and moves to the chair in front of Jody.  "And by the way, it's not Paddy.  It's Fergus."  Jody looks surprised at this revelation.

            JODY: Nice to meet you, Fergus.

            FERGUS:    My pleasure, Jody.

Fergus puts the wallet back in Jody's jacket and leans back in his chair.  Jody smiles at him.

 

CHAPTER 6

 

7.  "IT'S ONLY A PIECE OF MEAT."

 

            That evening.  Exterior scene.  Fergus leads Jody out so that Jody can take a pee.  "You're going to have to take my dick out for me, aren't you?" Jody says, when Fergus refuses to release him from the handcuffs.  Fergus reluctantly reaches toward him and unzips his fly.  In a close shot we see Fergus slightly behind Jody.  He reaches forward again to remove Jody's penis from his underpants.  Then he stands back.  Jody smiles and asks Fergus to hold his hands so that he can lean forward and not dribble over himself.  Jody leans forward and pees.  "Now that is worth waiting for!"  Jody jumps up and down to drop the last dribbles.  "It's amazing how these small details take on such importance."   Cut to Jody. "Now put it back in."  Cut to Fergus.  He looks even more uncomfortable. "Give us a break."  "It's only a piece of meat!" Jody says.  Close-up of Fergus as he reaches around to put Jody back together.

            Cut to a wide shot as Jody marches back to the greenhouse.  He seems ebullient, talkative.  Fergus can't shut him up.  Inside, Fergus sits across from him again.  "Sorry.  I know that wasn't very easy for you."  "The pleasure was all mine!"  Camera begins to circle around the two characters.  They laugh uproariously.

            Cut to Peter walking angrily toward the greenhouse.  Inside we see him in the background between Fergus and Jody. "What the fuck is this?" "He just took me out for a pee," Jody says.  Fergus puts the hood back on him.  Peter slams Fergus for fraternizing with the enemy.  He tells Fergus to get some sleep.  He'll watch the prisoner.

 

CHAPTER 7.

 

8.  THE SCORPION AND THE FROG  22.35

 

            Fergus comes into the greenhouse the next morning.  He carries a tray of food.  Peter becomes outraged when he learns that Fergus told Jody his name. He orders Fergus outside.  Peter upbraids him for his conduct.  "You will have minimum contact with that prisoner.  Tomorrow we may have to shoot him!" 

            Fergus returns to the greenhouse.  He walks over to Jody.  We see them in the same shot.  "There's two kinds of people.  Those who give and those who take."  Fergus raises Jody's hood and shares some of his breakfast with him. "Two types.  The scorpion and the frog."  Jody tells the story:

            JODY: A scorpion wants to cross the river.  But he

                        can't swim.  He goes to a frog, who can.  He

                        asks for a ride.  Frog says, "If I give you a

                        ride on my back, you'll go and sting me."  The

                        scorpion says, "It won't be in my interest to

                        sting you, since I'll be on your back and we'll

                        both drown."

Fergus has moved away from Jody now and stands with his back to him.  But he is listening.

            JODY: The frog thinks it over and accepts the deal,

            takes the scorpion on his back,  braves the waters--

Fergus moves farther away. He is alone in the frame.

            JODY: --halfway over feels a burning spear in his side, and realizes the

                        scorpion has stung him after all--

Fergus moves behind a tall shelf for pots in the greenhouse.  The camera tracks in closer to Fergus.  We can see him framed behind the shelf.

            JODY: --and as they both sink beneath the waves, the

                        frog cries out--

Fergus now turns to look directly at Jody.  Then reverse angle, Fergus' pov, and we see Jody small and vulnerable in the distance--

            JODY: --"Why did you sting me, Mr. Scorpion?!" So now

                        we both will drown! The scorpion replies, "I

                        can't help it.  It's in my nature."

Reverse angle, reaction shot of Fergus.

            FERGUS:  So what's that supposed to mean? 

            JODY:   It makes sense.

Reverse angle, same shot of Jody from Fergus' pov:

            JODY:  A scorpion does what's in its nature.

Reverse angle.  Fergus begins to move toward Jody. 

            JODY:   Take off the hood man.

            FERGUS: Why?

            JODY:   Cause you're kind.  And it's in your nature.

 

Notice again the tangled vines above and behind Fergus in this reaction shot.  He stares long and hard at Jody.  Then he moves toward him.  The camera tracks with him until we see them together in the frame.  He lifts the hood from Jody's head.  Music up.  Jody blinks in the light and smiles.  "See.  I was right about you.  Reaction shot of Fergus: "Don't be so sure."  Back to Jody: "Jody's always right."   Reaction shot of Fergus--his face is a mask of uncertainty.

 

CHAPTER 8

 

9.     TWO MEN IN THE CONFESSIONAL.  26.24

 

            Interior of the greenhouse later.  High angle wide shot.  Camera comes down and begins to track in on the two men.  Fergus is seated with the back to the pillar between Jody and him.  In effect, Fergus' back is turned away from Jody.  Jody remains in the chair. 

            JODY: Where would you like to be now, man?

FERGUS: Doesn't matter where.

            JODY: If this shit was all over...

            FERGUS: Havin' a pint in the Rock.

            JODY: Think of something more alluring.

Camera keeps tracking in.  Fergus is shown on the far left of the frame.  Their positions are the same.

            FERGUS: Like what?

            JODY: Like having a pint in the Metro. . . and Dil's

                        having a Margarita.

Camera keeps tracking in.  It moves left and establishes Fergus in the center of the frame in MS.  Jody is shown out of focus in the background.

            FERGUS: Who's Dil?

            JODY: A special friend.  We've got simple tastes, you

                        and me.

            FERGUS: Yeah.  The best.

            JOY: But you guys never get a break.  We

                        do a tour of duty and we're finished. But you

                        guys are never finished, are you?

            FERGUS: We don't look on it that way.

            JODY: I often wonder how you do.

            FERGUS: It depends on what you believe in.

            JODY: What do you believe in?

            FERGUS: That you guys shouldn't be here.

 

Jude comes in.  She tells Fergus to put the hood back on him.  "He's hot!" Fergus cries.  But he relents.  "You've got no feelings, woman!" Jody yells.  She goes over to Jody and puts the hood over him.  "You're headed for trouble, Fergus."  "He's a good soldier!" Jody says under the hood.  Jude slaps the gun against the side of his head.  "I said shut the fuck up!"  She starts to leave.  "He believes in the future," Jody mutters.  She leaves.

            Fergus moves close to Jody.   He lifts the hood slightly.  ECU of Jody's mouth, shows the blood from the blow.  Reaction shot, ECU, of Fergus.  Music up. 

            FERGUS: Is it bad?

Cut to ECU of Jody's mouth. 

            JODY: Not bad.  Women are  trouble.  Some kinds

                        of women are.

            FERGUS: She can't help it.

            JODY:   Dil.  She was no trouble at all.

Throughout this section we follow parallel editing between these two extreme close-ups. 

            FERGUS:  You liked her?

            JODY:  Present tense, please.  Love her. . . Why

                        don't you think of her, too?

            FERGUS: I don't know her.

            JODY: I want you to do something for me.

            FERGUS: What?

 

            JODY: If they kill me--

            FERGUS: --don't think that way!

ECU of Jody, his mouth still bloody.

            JODY: --but they will--as sure as night follows

                        day.  They have to.  I want you find

                        her out.  Tell her I was thinking of her.

Cut to Fergus.  He is nervous, sympathetic.

            JODY: --tell her I was all right.

            FERGUS: I don't know her!

            JODY: Take her picture.  Here. 

Cut to Fergus.  He moves toward the camera.  We cut away from the extreme close-ups parallel editing track and reestablish on a two-shot.  Now the music is moving toward a climax, with its romantic strains.  Close shot of Fergus taking the wallet from Jody's jacket.  Camera moves up.  Now we see both men's faces close to each other.

            JODY: Take the whole lot.

            FERGUS: Don't talk that way!

Jody tells Fergus where to find Dil.  He asks him to take Dil to the Metro and buy her a Margarita.      

            JODY: You don't have to tell her who you are. Just

                        say Jody was thinking of her--

            FERGUS: --stop it!

Fergus moves away from Jody, who now is alone in the frame. 

 

CHAPTER 9

 

10.  FERGUS QUOTES FROM THE BIBLE.   30:50

 

            Peter comes in and addresses Fergus as "volunteer."  Back inside the building, Peter announces that their IRA counterpart has been broken by the British.  "You're going to have to do it in the morning.  You okay about that?"  "I'm a volunteer."  Jude admits she has her doubts about Fergus, too.  Fergus asks, "Request permission to guard the prisoner tonight.  It would make me feel better about it."  Peter agrees.  "You're a good man, Fergus."

            Cut to a two-shot of Fergus sitting in front of Jody, from the latter's pov.  Jody is sobbing uncontrollably.  Fergus watches him with sympathy.  "Don't."  Music throughout. "Help me."   "I can't."  Reverse angle.  Jody wears the hood.  "Just help me."  Reverse angle.  Fergus gives him a cigarette.  Music continues.  Jody coughs after taking a few drags.  "Tell me something," Jody says.  Music stays up.  Cut to Jody's pov.  Camera in slightly as Fergus talks.

            FERGUS: When I was a child, I thought as a child. 

                        But when I became a man, I put away childish

                        things.

Reaction shot of Jody, and camera tracks in.

            JODY: What does that mean?

Reaction shot of Fergus.  Camera keeps tracking in, so that now he is in medium shot.

            FERGUS: Nothing.

Reaction shot of Jody.  Camera tracks in so that he is in close-up.

            JODY: Tell me something, anything.

Close-up of Fergus.  He is blinking his eyes and trying to hold back the tears.  Close-up of Jody.

            JODY:  You're not a lot of use, are you Fergus.

Close-up of Fergus.

            FERGUS: Me?  No.  I'm not good for much. Music ends.

 

CHAPTER 10

 

11.       "YOU WOULDN'T SHOOT A BROTHER IN THE BACK!"  34.53

 

            High angle of the compound.  Birds chirping in the early morning fog.  Peter enters the greenhouse.  He looks toward Fergus and clicks his weapon.  He leaves. Fergus tells Jody to stand up.  He leads him out of the greenhouse.  The camera tracks back as they move toward the camera.  Peter claps his hand on Jody's shoulder to stop him. "I wish to say on behalf of the Irish Republican Army"--but Fergus cuts him off.  "Leave him be!"  He leads Jody away.  Dramatic music up, with sounds of drums in the background.  Cut to tracking shot of the two moving down a lane.  "Take the hood off.  Don't let me die like an animal."  They both stop.  Fergus removes the hood.  They resume walking in a wide shot.  "I'm glad you're doing it.  You know that, Fergus?"   "Why?" "Cause you're my friend!"  Then the music begins to increase in volume and the conversation turns toward whether or not Jody will try to run away.  "You won't run!" Fergus says.  "You wouldn't shoot a brother in the back!" Jody says--and then he begins to run away.  "Jody!"  Fergus points the gun at him.  Close-up of Jody's hands.  He has gotten free of the handcuffs somehow. Cut to a wide shot of the two.  Jody is running fast now.   Soon he outpaces Fergus.  Then Jody stops and turns around.  Fergus stops and cocks the gun. "Don't do it!" Jody warns.  Then he runs again.  We see him on the road--and a military vehicle bears down upon him.  Cut to Fergus screaming at him.  Cut to close shot of Jody being struck by the vehicle.  Cut to Fergus' reaction shot--a look of horror on his face.  Then a wide shot of another truck running over Jody's body.  Cut to close shot behind one of the vehicles.  Several soldiers jump out.  They run past the fallen Jody, a pool of blood around his head.  Fergus runs away.  Cut to exterior wide shot of the greenhouse.  Bullets slam into it from everywhere, including a military helicopter overhead.  Inside the building we see Peter and Jude escape through a casement window.  Others are killed.  Suddenly the buildings burst into flames.  Fergus runs through the woods. The music reaches crescendo. 

 

CHAPTER 11

 

12.       FERGUS LOSES HIMSELF AND FINDS DIL.  38.46

 

            Exterior scene somewhere in Northern Ireland.  An old man walks his bicycle and is stopped by Fergus.  They walk off arm in arm.  Later, inside his friend's house, Fergus explains that he needs "to go across the water.  I need to lose myself for a while."  So Fergus is bound for London.

            Wide shot of a ferry going across the channel to England.  Music up.  Cut to shot of Fergus doing construction work inside a building.  From his pov we can see men playing cricket in the distance. 

            Exterior of street.  After work Fergus returns to his apartment.  Inside his room he dresses up and sits looking at the photograph of Dil.  Romantic strains of music up. 

            Exterior of street.  Fergus stops at Millie's hair salon and goes inside.  That's where Dil works.  He comes in just at closing time.  But Dil, a tall thin woman dressed in a tight black outfit, takes him as a customer.  Cut to a close shot of Fergus' head being pushed back into the sink.  Dil washes his hair gently.  Low angle close shot of Dil looking down at him.  Her black hair falls to each side of her face.  Reverse angle shot, high angle, as she looks down at Fergus.

            DIL: Someone recommended you.

            FERGUS: In a way.

            DIL: Who?

            FERGUS: A guy I work with.

            DIL: What's his name?

            FERGUS: Does the water not get to your nails?

            DIL: What's it to you?

            FERGUS: Nothing.

After the wash, she is finishing cutting his hair.  He tells her he is from Scotland.  Close shots of her hands holding the scissors. She has long thin fingers with full nails.  She describes his voice as sounding like "treacle," and he laughs.  "Nice laugh," she says.  Later, she holds the mirror behind him so he can view her work.  "That should make her happy."  He turns around. "Who's she?" 

 

CHAPTER 12

 

13. MARGARITAS AT THE METRO.  42.37

 

Dil leaves for the night.  Fergus follows her.  Exterior of the Metro, a pub.  Dil heads for the door.  Behind her Fergus watches.  Inside the pub, she greets the bartender and sits down.  Fergus follows her in and sits across from her.  The shot shows the bartender, Carl, on the right, Dil in the distance, and Fergus in the foreground.

            DIL: See that, Carl?  He gave me a look.

            CARL: Did he?

            DIL: I just cut his hair you know.

Cut to different angle of Dil, reflected in a mirror, then back to shot of Fergus.  He is caught looking again.  Medium shot of Dil.

            DIL: There.  He did it again.

Close shot of Carl.

            CARL: I saw that one. 

            DIL: And what would you call that one?

            CARL: That was a look.

Reaction shot of Fergus.  He looks uncomfortable.  The editing follows each character in medium shot with each part of their dialogue. If no dialogue, brackets [] are used.

            DIL: Ask him to ask me what I'm drinking.

            CARL: She wants to know if you want to know what she's

                        drinking.

            DIL: A Margarita.

            FERGUS: [He looks up toward Carl and shrugs.]

            CARL: [He turns his back to the bar.]

            DIL: Now he can look.

            FERGUS: [He looks at Dil.]

            DIL: Ask him does he like his hair, Carl.

            CARL: She wants to know, sir, do you like you hair?

            FERGUS: Tell her I'm very happy with it. [Dil says,              "He's Scottish, Carl."]

            CARL: [He turns toward Fergus.] Scottish? [Fergus

                        says, "Yeah."]

Cut to the wide shot of the three within the frame. 

            DIL: What'd he say? 

            CARL: He agreed he was.

            DIL: What do you think his name might be.

            CARL: I have no thoughts on the subject.

            FERGUS: Jimmy.

DIL: Jimmy.

            CARL: Jimmy.  That's what he said.

Medium shot of Dil used before.  She says, "Hi, Jimmy."  Cut to medium shot of Fergus used before.  "Hi, Dil."

            Suddenly another man comes up behind Dil and sits down next to her.  He's Dave, and Dil doesn't seem to appreciate his presence.  "You know what I like," he says.  She walks away.  She shoots a look at Fergus, and we see his reaction shot as he leaves, too.  Outside the metro, Fergus watches from across the street as Dave yells at Dil and then slaps her in the face.  He follows them.

            Later, Fergus watches them from behind a fence as they walk toward Dil's apartment.  He watches her window, on the third floor, and can see them arguing behind the drapes.

            Cut to Fergus lying in his bed in his apartment.  He is dreaming.  Suddenly we see an image of Jody dressed in his cricket uniform.  He is bowling.  Fergus wakes up in a sweat.      

            Exterior of the building site where Fergus works.  He watches the cricket game going on in the field across from the site.  He waves a board like a cricket paddle, but his supervisor yells at him for not working.

 

CHAPTER 13

 

14.       DIL SINGS 'THE CRYING GAME' 46.34

 

            Fergus arrives at the Metro another night.  Carl greets him warmly.  He gives Fergus a margarita.  Carl leans toward Fergus and says, "You came to see her, didn't you.  Listen, there's something I should tell you..." But he is cut off when Dil begins singing.  Lots of applause.

            47.15 Cut to Dil, who is dressed in a gold-sequined low cut dress.  Her hair is up.  She comes onto the stage and sings, "The Crying Game."  Some of the words include: "I've had my share of the crying game.  First there are kisses.  Then there are sighs...  Reaction shots of the crowd show Fergus watching, other patrons looking on approvingly.  One day soon I'm going to tell the moon about the crying game.  And if he knows, maybe he'll explain.  Why there are heartaches, why there are tears, and want to do to some feeling blue when love disappears."  As she sings, she moves her arms and hands suggestively in serpentine movements.  Every move she makes is feminine and sensual.

            When the next performer begins, she moves over to Fergus and sits at the bar.  "So tell me.  Everybody wants something," she says. "Not me," he says.  Then here comes Dave again, a slick-haired conniving type.  He drags her away.  Fergus watches this carefully.  Carl comes over to Fergus.  "Takes all types."  "So who's he?" Fergus asks.  Carl says, "He's what she should run a mile from."  "And why doesn't she?"  Carl says, "Who knows the secrets of the human heart."  Fergus leaves.  He takes Dil's jacket and bag with him.

           

CHAPTER 14

 

15.       FERGUS "LOOKS AFTER" DIL.  50.25

 

            He finds them in an alley behind the Metro.  Dave is threatening her.  She struggles to keep him away.  Here comes Fergus.  "I've got your bag."  He approaches Dil and Dave. "Who the fuck's he?" Dave says.  Fergus kicks him in the groin with his knee, Dave drops to the ground, and then Fergus puts his foot on Dave's neck.  "See.  They get the wrong idea," Dil says as she stands next to Fergus.  "Cunt!" Dave snaps.  Fergus tightens his foot against Dave's neck.  "What was that?"  She leans down toward Dave, and the camera tilts to the right in an oblique angle.  She slaps Dave lightly on the face.  "Go home, like a good boy."

            She stands up and takes Fergus' arm.  "Come on, honey." They walk away from Dave.  "You all right?" he asks. "What was that all about?"  "He wants me to perform for him," she says.  He looks back toward Dave.  "He's getting up."  "Can't leave me then, can you?"  She puts on her jacket.

            Back at Dil's apartment.  Music up gradually.  They climb the steps to her landing.  "You want me to ask you in, right?"  "No."  "I'm not cheap. You know that!"  Close shot of Dil.  "Loud, but never cheap."  Close shot reaction of Fergus.  Then we hear Dave yelling.  She turns to Fergus in a two-shot.  "If you kiss me, it would really get his goat."  Fergus leans forward and kisses her softly.  Dave groans.  Cut to Fergus and Dil as they separate.  "Now if you asked to see me tomorrow, it would really drive him insane."  "When?"  "Outside of Minnie's."  She kisses him softly. 

 

SIDE ONE ENDS 53.04

 

SIDE TWO

 

CHAPTER 1

 

16. FERGUS AND DIL'S FIRST DATE. 

 

Exterior of Dil's shop.  Fergus meets her after work and gives her some flowers.  Suddenly the blinds open in the window behind them and her coworkers all applaud her "catch."  Then we see them at a restaurant.  "Now's the time you're going to make a pass?"  "Must be." 

            Exterior of a street at night.  Fergus is walking her home.  She asks if he has a "special friend."  Suddenly a car zooms toward them--it's Dave again.  They jump out of the way.  "The things a girl has to put up with," she says.  Outside her place Fergus asks, "You going to be all right on your own?"  "I'm not on my own," she smiles. 

            Inside Dil's apartment.  She is wearing a tight black dress.  Fergus looks around the apartment.  Music up.  Tracking shot as Fergus looks about.  Fergus examines several photographs of Jody and Dil. 

            But Dave is still causing trouble.  He stands outside her apartment and screams obscenities.  Dil goes to the window.  "Talk to me!" he yells. "Sure, Dave."  She begins to throw all of his clothes out the window.  She even throws out his teddy bear.  And then insult!  She heaves his goldfish over the edge and the bowl smashes to smithereens.  "Murderer!" he yells.

            Back inside, Fergus sits down next to Dil.  He looks toward a photo of Jody (wearing his cricket uniform).

            FERGUS: What about him?

            DIL:    He was different.

Camera tracks in on the two of them.  Dil says Jody was "as different as it is possible to be."  Then Dil and Fergus kiss passionately.  She pulls his hand away from between her legs.  She kisses his hand.

            FERGUS: Did you do that to him?

            DIL:    Do you want to know how I kissed him?

            FERGUS: Yes.

She unzips his fly.

            DIL:    Jealous?

            FERGUS: Maybe.

She lifts his shirt and kisses his body.  Music becomes more intense.  Camera raises for a high angle shot of the two. 

Cut to a close shot of Fergus' face.  Dil's hand touches him gently on his face.  He is lost in a moment of ecstasy.  Cut to an insert shot of the photograph of Jody in his cricket clothes.  At the moment of orgasm we hear Fergus' groans and see Jody's photo dissolve to a slow-motion image of Jody running toward the camera and bowling the cricket ball. 

            Cut to a shot of three photos of Dil and Jody as part of Dil's collection of photos.  Then return to the close shot of Fergus--but now Dil's face raises up into the shot and she looks intently at Fergus.

            FERGUS: What would he think?

            DIL:    He can't.  He's dead.

Dil sits at her makeup table.  She tells Fergus how Jody died.  Fergus stands next to her and touches her hair gently.             DIL:    You can't stay.  You know that.

            FERGUS: Didn't think I could."

She stands up and kisses him lightly.

            FERGUS: Shouldn't you be in mourning?

            DIL:    I am. 

 

CHAPTER 2

 

17.       SPECIAL DRINKS SEAL A RELATIONSHIP.   6.27

 

            Interior of the Metro.  Another woman is singing on stage.  Fergus and Dil are sitting at the bar.  Dave stops by to apologize to Dil.  Fergus stands up--poor Dave jumps back in fright.  "I was only going to ask her for a dance."  Dil is wearing a red dress. Her hair is up.  She wears large earrings.  They dance.  Fergus can't stop talking about Jody.  "I want to look after you," he says.  "What do you mean?"  "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."  Reaction shot of the other patrons singing along--including Carl, the bartender.  The Metro is crowded.

            Back to Dil and Fergus, a close shot of the two.  "You're not having me on, are you?" 

            Fergus and Dil return to the bar.  Carl watches them carefully.  She orders a special drink for Fergus and her.  "I'm superstitious."  He drinks it. Dil says, "Can't leave me now." Then she looks toward Carl and adds, "Thing is, can you go the distance?"  Note how we see Carl between them, from their point of view, as if he is the Father confessor for them.  They drink together a second drink, and then they walk out.  Carl is left behind with a knowing look on his face.

 

CHAPTER 3

 

18.  FERGUS GOES THE DISTANCE.    9.27 

 

Tracking shot shows Fergus walking into Dil's room. 

            DIL: What are you thinking about, hon?

Fergus notices Jody's cricket uniform hanging in her room.   Dil can be seen in the background.

            FERGUS: Thinking about your man.  Wonder why you keep

                        his things.

Dil walks toward Fergus.  She lets down her hair. 

            DIL: I told you.  I'm superstitious.

            FERGUS: Did he ever tell you you were beautiful?

            DIL: All the time.  Even now.

Fergus reaches out to touch her face.  The music comes up slowly.

            FERGUS: What do you mean?

            DIL: All the time.  He's a gentleman too.

She pulls Fergus away from this area of the room and toward her bed.  We see them behind a gauzy red curtain.  They sit on the bed and kiss.  She falls back onto the bed and he holds her.  Suddenly she moves to sit up.  The camera tracks left as she tells him to wait a moment.  She  leaves.  He sits up and waits for her to return.  He lies on the bed.  Cut to Dil entering her bathroom and reaching for a robe.  The music continues its steady pulsating rhythm.  Dil returns to the bed.  She is wearing a gauzy red robe.  Fergus stands up.  They kiss.  "Would he have minded?"  She shakes her head no.  Fergus kisses her neck.  The camera is behind Fergus.  He pulls her robe from her shoulders as he drops to the bed.  Her nakedness is revealed from her shoulders down to her--penis and genitals.  Dil is a man.  Cut to a shot of the two from the side.  Fergus stares up at her as if he is looking at a ghost.  Then he turns away from her.  We can see a large tattoo on Dil's right arm.  "You did know, didn't you?"   Cut to a close shot of Dil.  "Oh, my God."  Back to the previous shot. She reaches out to him.  He slaps her hand away, jumps to his feet, smacks Dil in the face to get her out of the way, and runs to the bathroom, where he vomits.  "I'm sorry.  I thought you knew."

            Cut to a medium shot of Dil, from a low angle, as she huddles on the floor with her robe around her.  We can see Fergus bent over in the bathroom behind her.  "What were you doing in the bar if you didn't know?"  She touches her face. "I'm bleeding."  She lights a cigarette.  "That's all right, Jimmy.  I can take it.  Just not on the face."  He slams the door.  "See, I'm not a young thing any longer. It's funny the way things go.  He comes out of the room.  Medium shot of Fergus.  "I'm sorry."  Cut to low angle of Dil.  She tries to grab him as he walks by.  She lies crying and huddled on the floor after he leaves.

            Close shot of Fergus lying awake in his bed.  Suddenly we see his vision of Jody walking toward him out of the fog of his unconscious.  Jody is wearing his cricket uniform, and he is tossing his ball in the air, as if taunting Fergus.

 

19.  "TELL HIM IT HURTS."  12:58

 

            Interior of the Metro.  It is crowded, and now the couples standing about appear a bit more menacing than before.  Suddenly it's hard to determine gender--now we notice it where we didn't before.  Fergus makes his way through the crowd.  He comes in at the bar.  We see him from Carl's point of view: "Tell him to go fuck himself!" Dil yells.  "Stop it, Dil!" Carl says. Carl plays the go-between again, relaying messages.  "Tell him it hurts!" Dil says.  She runs out of the club. 

            Exterior of Dil's apartment.  Low angle of her apartment.  She is visible as a shadow behind her blinds.  Camera down to show Fergus writing a message to her.  He leaves it in her box.  Strains of the song "The Crying Game" can be heard playing--probably from Dil's stereo.

           

CHAPTER 4

 

20.  "SHE'S NOT A TART, AND SHE'S NOT A LADY!"  14.30

           

            Close shot of Dil, dressed to kill, wearing sunglasses.  She walks toward the construction site.  We can hear wolf whistles from the men.  Then a shot of Fergus raising a window with a rope and pulley.  He looks to his right.  From his pov we see an ELS of Dil walking across the green.  Cut to the window dropping--right in front of his supervisor.  Reaction shot of Fergus. 

            Dil takes the elevator up to Fergus' level.  She stops outside the window while the supervisor finishes screaming at Fergus.

            BOSS: Well, does Pat have a tart?

            FERGUS: She's not a tart.

            BOSS:  Of course not.  She's a lady.

            FERGUS: She's not that, either.

Cut to Dil outside the window. The other men leave.  She steps through the window.  She looks stunning in shorts and beaded jacket.  "Darling, never let the sun go down on an argument, as Jody used to say." "What are you doing here?" 

She moves toward Dil, and they appear in the same shot.  "Got your note.  Let's kiss and make up, honey."  "Don't call me that!"  "Sorry, darling."  "Stop it."  "My apologies, my sweet."  She steps away from him.  He's left smiling and shrugging his shoulders.  He sits near her.  "You're something else."  "You never said a truer word."  Close shot of Dil.  "I was always best looking after someone."  At first she is flippant about these exchanges, but suddenly she become serious.  Their dialogue matches parallel cuts of the two characters.

            DIL: Do you care, Jimmy?

            FERGUS: Sure, I do.

            DIL: [she bites her lip] You mean that?

            FERGUS: Yeah, I care, Dil. 

            DIL: [she fights to control herself]

            FERGUS: [he notices something about her reaction.  He

                        reaches his hand toward her face.] You're crying.

Now we see them together in the frame.  He lifts her glasses. She pulls away slightly.

            DIL: I'm tired and emotional.

Fergus' boss comes down to yell at him again. Get back to work.  "Get the bloody tart out of here."  Fergus stands up and threatens him.  Then he reaches out and takes Dil's hand. "Come on, Dil."  He helps her back out the window.

            Outside on the elevator going back down, Dil teases Fergus about his "strong man routine"--"you made me feel all funny inside."  He tells her to stop it.  She asks to see him again. "Do you think that is wise?"  "Nothing's wise." Fergus says, "I kind of liked you as a girl." "That's a start."  She says he can make it up to her.  "How?"  "Ask to meet me again."  "Can you meet me again?"  "When?"  "Tonight."  She leans over and kisses him on his cheek.  Cat calls and whistles from the other workmen.  She walks away in a low angle shot and makes a towering presence as she elicits more catcalls and whistles.

           

21. "DETAILS, BABY, DETAILS." 

 

Exterior of Millie's hairdressing shop.  Dil comes out and joins Fergus.  When she calls him "honey," he tells her not to call him that.

            DIL:  A girl has her feelings.

            FERGUS: [He groans] The thing is, Dil, you're not a

                        girl.

            DIL:  Details, baby, details.

Tracking shot follows them as they walk down the street.

            FERGUS: I should've known, shouldn't I?  Kinda wish

                        I didn't.

            DIL: You can always pretend.

FERGUS: Your soldier knew, didn't he?

            DIL: Absolutely.

            FERGUS: Won't be quite the same, will it?

            DIL: Are you pretending yet?

            FERGUS: But I'm working on it.        

They stop outside her apartment. She reaches out to touch him.  He pulls back.

            FERGUS: Don't ask me in.

            DIL: Please, Jimmy.

            FERGUS: No, can't pretend that much.

            DIL: I miss you, Jimmy.

            FERGUS: Should've stayed a girl.

            DIL: Don't be cruel.

            FERGUS: [he reaches out and touches her gently] Okay.

                        Be a good girl and go inside.

            DIL: Only if you kiss me.

Fergus moves slowly toward her as the music comes up. Cut to a close shot of the two kissing gently.

            FERGUS: Now are you happy?

            DIL: Delirious.

Dil leaves the frame and Fergus shows surprise, wonder, and uncertainty on his face.

 

CHAPTER 5

 

22.       JUDE'S NEW LOOK.  20.20

 

            Fergus enters his apartment.  Suddenly a light is turned on.  There sits Jude.  She has a new hairstyle, dark hair instead of light hair, and wears a tight suit.  She walks over to the bed, where he is lying back, takes off a black glove, grabs his scrotum, and says, "Fuck me, Fergus?" He turns away.  "Am I to take it that's a no?" She tells him the IRA court-martialed him.  He was spared when she spoke on his behalf--said they should find out what happened first.  He tells her Jody ran, he couldn't shoot him in the back, and Jody was run over by the military vehicle.  "So you did fuck up!" 

            Then Jude lays out the master plan.  Since nobody thinks Fergus is still alive, he will make a perfect accomplice for a political assassination in London.  He declines the invitation. "I'm out."  "You're never out."  Then she hits him with, "Consider the wee black chick."  She taunts him again.  "I must admit, I'm curious."  He grabs her by the hair and threatens her.  Suddenly she pulls a big handgun out of her purse and holds it at his head.  Fergus thinks fast. "She's nobody.  She likes me."  Then she kisses him lightly on the lips and leaves.

 

 

CHAPTER 6

 

23.             TWO WOMEN, ONE MAN. 23.50

 

Fergus walks up to Millie's shop. We see him from the inside, where Dil is working on Jude's hair.  "Your boyfriend," Jude says coyly.  "Lucky you."   Then we see  Fergus and Dil at lunch at a restaurant.  Suddenly Jude enters in the background and sits down.  Fergus notices her and takes Dil away with him.  Outside Dil says, "You're going to tell me what's wrong?"  "Not here," Fergus says.  Dramatic music builds slowly.

            Later Fergus and Dil are between Dil and Jude come to the Metro.  But Jude is already waiting there for the.  She comes over to the bar.  Fergus is stuck between the two women.  The shots below are between Dil and Jude in a  parallel track.

            DIL: You know her, Jimmy?

            JUDE:  Jimmy, is it?  Has he been nice to you, Jude?

            DIL: Ever so nice.

            JUDE: Young love, as they say.

            DIL: Absolutely.  The younger the better.  It doesn't come your way

                        Much, I suppose.

            JUDE: Don't go looking for it, Dil.

            DIL: Well, maybe you'll get lucky.  A woman has to have some glamour.

            JUDE: Absolutely.  As long as she can keep it.

Then Jude shoots a look at Fergus and walks out.  Fergus is left holding his head in his hands.  Dil misunderstands.  She thinks Fergus is in love with Jude.  "I'm real sorry, " Dil says.  She turns to  Carl.

            DIL: See that, Carl?

            CARL: Saw it, Dil.

            DIL: Fuck it, is what I say.

            CARL: Yeah, fuck it, Dil. 

Dil walks out of the Metro.

 

24. THE IRA WANTS  FERGUS. 26.50

 

Fergus sits glumly at the bar. Carl says, "When a girl runs out like that, she generally wants to be followed.'  "She's not a girl, Carl."  "Whatever you say."  Fergus goes outside.  But Jude cuts him off and pulls him over to her car.  Peter is in the front seat.  Jude drives.  Cut to a shot of the rear of a black cab.  Inside is Dil.  She's going to follow Fergus.

            Fergus realizes the car he thought Dave was driving in earlier scenes was really Peter.  Now Peter would like nothing better than to kill Fergus.  He burns Fergus' hand with his cigarette to make the point.  Jude says, "Leave him alone, Peter.  He's in love."  Peter follows upon this.  But Fergus insists, "She's just a girl."

            They stop in a commercial area.  Peter explains that an old man, on the IRA hit list, visits a prostitute in a nearby building.  The idea s to have Fergus assassinate the man.  Fergus realizes that whoever shoots the man will be killed by the heavy security.  Fergus says, "Thai's suicide, isn't it/"  Jude shoots him a look.  Fergus adds, "But then I don't have a choice." Jude invites Fergus to come with her for a rehearsal, a walk-through of the timing required to complete the job. 

            On their way across the street Fergus insists that Jude not hurt Dil after he makes the hit (and is killed).  She assures him Dil won't be hurt.  He walks past the car just at the point when the old man comes down for his ride.  When he comes back to Jude, she exclaims, "You were made for this.  Perfect."  Fergus asks who the target is.  "Some judge," she says.  She leaves.

 

CHAPTER 8

 

25. DIL'S MAKE-OVER.  31.21

 

Suddenly Dil comes out of a pub in the background.  Fergus sees her.  Fergus follows her into this pub.  She says, "I was jealous." He tells her she shouldn't be.  She is an emotional wreck.  She criers.  They sit down.  He reaches out and dries her tears with his handkerchief.  We see her in close-up.  She asks, "What are you doing?"  He keeps rubbing her cheeks.  HE says, "I don't know yet."

            DIL: Do you like me even a little bit?

            FERGUS: [he rubs her lipstick off]  More than that.

 

32.26

They go to Millie's.  They stand outsdide4. 

FERGUS: Would you do something for me, Dil?

            DDIL: Anything.

They go into the shop.  Fergus tells her he wants to cut her hair.  At first she resists. 

            DIL: A girl has to draw the line somewhere.

            FERGUS: I want to change you into a man.

            DIL: Why?

FERGUS: It's a secret.

            DIL: Would you like me better that way?  You wouldn't leave me?

Theme music comes up as Fergus begins to cut her hair.  Dil closes her yes. 

            Interior of Dil's apartment.  Fergus is single-minded about changing Dil into a man so that the bad guys won't' recognize her.  Dil kisses him, coos softly, and is interested in sex.  He helps her take off her clothes, but then he asks her to put on Jody's cricket uniform. 

            Exterior of a downtown street.  Music continues to play dramatically.  Fergus takes her to a hotel, for a 'honeymoon."

            Interior of hotel room.  Dil is asleep next to Fergus.  He sits up in bed.  Dissolve to morning scene in bedroom.  Fergus leaves Dil.

 

CHAPTER 10

 

26. FERGUS CAN'T DESERT DIL.  36.49

 

Exterior of a building site.  Jude pulls up in a car.  Fergus is working on a second floor level.  Jude brings him a gun for the job.  These are the "tools of the trade."  She kisses him. "Forget about the girl," she says. She leaves.

            Interior of hotel.  Fergus arrives to find Dil has left.  He runs out.

            Exterior of Dil's apartment.  Fergus is trying to find her.  He spots her on the green in front of the building.  She is drunk.  "You were leaving me!"  He tries to calm her down.  She won't take calming.

            Interior of her apartment building.  They walk up the steps. "Tell me everything, Jimmy!"

            FERGU: You've got to forget you ever saw me, Dil!

            DIL: You mean that?

Suddenly she slumps down and he grabs her.  She seems to be unconscious.  He slaps her face to wake her up.  She looks up at him. "Sorry.  I get nervous.  I've got this blood condition."  He helps her into her room.  She staggers in by herself after he goes to pull the drapes over the windows.  He gives her some medication she asks for.  "Are you supposed to take that many?" he asks. "Only in times of severe stress. She drinks whiskey with the pills.  He stands across the room from her.  We see her through the thin gauzy curtain in front of her bed. 

DIL: You see, they all say good-bye sometime, except for him.

            FERGUS: Are you all right, Dil?

            DIL:  I will be.

Fergus wants to go--he has to make the hit on time.  He starts to leaves.  She calls to him.

            DIL: Don't go like that.  I can't help what I am.

Fergus walks across the room to her.  He kisses her softly. Cut to reaction shot of pictures of Jody and then of Jody and Dil.

            Later, Fergus stays with Dil.  She lies on her bed.  He sits net to her.  The scene is developed with parallel cuts between Fergus and high angle shots of Dil, bathed in a warm orange light as she lies on the bed.

            FERGU: Dil, I knew your man.  Your soldier.

            DIL: You mean my Jody?

She is drugged, nearly asleep now.

            FERGUS: We lifted him from a carnival outside Belfast.  I got orders

                              to shoot him, but he ran under a tank and died.

            DIL: You killed m Jody.

            FERGUS: In a manner of speaking.  You should scream.  You should beat

                        my head off.  [She slaps him weakly in the face.  She is nearly asleep.]

            DIL:  [She points a finger weakly at him.]  Bang!

Fergus rubs her face gently.

            DIL: Don't leave me tonight.  Kill me, too.

            FERGUS: Okay.

 

CHAPTER 11

 

27. FERGUS HELD HOSTAGE. 

 

Next morning.  Dil wakes up, and then finds Fergus' gun.  Cut to Jude's apartment.  Her alarm goes off.  The rest of t he scene ins parallel cut between the two scenes: Dil's apartment and action in Jude's apartment and then at the scene of t he assassination plot.

            Dil ties Fergus to the bed before he wakes up.   Meanwhile, Jude readies herself for the big day.  Pounding musical theme runs throughout this scene.  Fergus wakes up and finds himself tied down. Jude slips a machine gun into her large bag.  Fergus struggles against his constraints.  Dil stalks around the be. "I wonder why you came onto that way, and gave me that look."  Fergus struggles: "He asked me to see if you were all right." 

            Peter picks up Jude. 

            Dil stalks around the room.  She is angry that she as taken advantage of.  She points the gun at Fergus. "I should blow you away.  But I can't."  He pleads with her to let him go.  The assassination rendezvous.  "Where is he?" Peter wonders.  Fergus strugglers on the bed  "Let me go!"

            The assassination scene.  "Drive around once more," Jude says. 

            Dil moves in.  She points the gun at Fergus.  "I just want to cuddle, a little while longer."

            Peter and Jude waiting.  They are growing desperate. 

            Dil holds the gun at Fergus' face.  He keeps pleading with her.

Peter and Jude watch the judge leave the building.  It's now or never.  Peter grabs the gun from Jude's bag, leaps out of the car, and begins running toward the judge.

            Fergus struggles in the bed.

Peter fires at the judge and security men.  During the exchanges he is shot several times and drops on the road. Jude roars off in the car.

            Fergus lets out a sigh.  He knows he can't escape now.

 

27. DIL'S REVENGE.  47.20

 

            Dil puts on the tape of the song, "The Crying Game."  She holds the gun on Fergus. 

            DIL: You like me now, Jimmy? [The dialogue that follows is in one shot that shows Dil leaning close to Fergus on the bed.

            DIL: Tell me you love me.

            FERGUS: Whatever you say, Dil.

            DIL: Then say it.

            FERGUS: I love you, Dil.

            DIL: You do?

            FERGUS: Yeah.

            DIL: What would you do for me?

            FERGUS: Anything.

            DIL: [She puts the gun to his chest.]  Say it again.

            FERGUS: I'd do anything for you, Dil.

She begins to untie him.  Cut to low angle shot of Jude's car racing down the street.

            DIL: [She leans closer to Fergus]  You'd never leave me?

            FERGUS: Never.

            DIL: I know you're lying.  But it's nice to hear it. 

She lies on his chest.  Fergus tries to comfort her.  Both are crying.

 

CHAPTER 12

 

49.12

 

Jude quietly enters Dil's apartment.  Her gun is drawn and pointed at Fergus and Dil.  Suddenly Dil stands up and fire after saying "You didn't knock, honey!"  She fires several times.  Jude goes down, but she isn't dead.  Fergus screams, "Dil!"

            DIL: What was that she called you, Jimmy?"

FERGUS: Fergus! It's my name, Dil!

            DIL: So what happened to Jimmy?

Jude crawls back to the wall to get her gun.  She picks it up and begins to point it toward Dil.  But Dil shoots her in the arm and the gun drops.  Dil is determined, steely, and calculating.

            DIL: Was she there when you got my Jody?  I asked you a question.  Were you there, too?

            JUDE: You sick bitch!

Dil shoots her again.

            DIL: She was there, too, wasn't she?  You used those tits and  that ass

                        to get him, didn't you?

Dil shoots Jude one more time--a fatal shot.  Fergus jumps up from the bed after screaming Dil's name.  But then he freezes.  Dil points the gun at him, too.  Now we go to parallel cuts between the two.

            DIL: She was there--wasn't she?

            FERGUS: She was.

            DIL: Tell me what she wore.

            FERGUS: [he shakes his head]  I can't remember.  [Dil's arm is shaking] 

Fergus gives a look of resignation.

            DIL: I can't do it, Jimmy.  HE won't let me.  Cut to a two-shot of Dil and Fergus.  She looks toward her photographs of Jody.  She sits down and stares at those icons of her former lover.  "H won't let me."  Cut to close shot of Dil from the side.  She lifts the gun, opens her mouth, and inserts the barrel into her mouth.  But suddenly Fergus' hand enters the frame and he pulls the gun away. 

            Cut to a wide shot.  He places the gun on her bureau.  He helps her stand up.  He asks her to leave right now.  "I'll see you again."  "Yes.  Promise."  He tell her to go to the Metro.  They walk past the bloodstained body of Jude.  Back inside, Fergus looks out the window and down onto the green, where Dil is running away.  We hear sirens, then see police cars. Fergus picks up the gun.  He looks at Jody's picture and muses, "You should have stayed at home."  Then he sits in a chair to wait for the police.  Note how Jody's picture is shown in the foreground as Fergus sits in the background.

 

CHAPTER 13

 

28. DIL STANDS BY HER MAN.   52.59

 

            Interior of a prison visitor's center.  Families enter the room during visiting hours.  Their voices echo on the walls. Dil enters and walks toward screen left.  Her hair has grown longer and she is wearing a leather jacket and high heels.  She climbs to a platform that faces a special cell. Behind the glass sits Fergus.  She sits down across from him, the glass seating them. 

DIL: I got the multi-vitamins and the iron tablets, hon.     

            FERGUS: Don't call me that!

            DIL: Sorry, love.  The white one's magnesium supplement.

            FERGUS: Stop it, Dil.

            DIL: I've got to keep you healthy, Jimmy. I'm counting the days.  2334 left.

Cut to a medium shot of Fergus. This shot alternates with a medium shot of Dil in the following track.  The shot of Dil shows a brightly lit background.  She looks beautiful.  Her makeup is clear and even.  Her large earrings glistening the light.  In the shots of Fergus we can barely make out the shadow of Dil's face superimposed upon his in the glass.

            FERGUS: --35!

            DIL: I'm sorry, darling.  I keep forgetting the leap year.

            FERGUS: Dil!

Camera stays on Fergus.  Dil asks, ":What am I supposed to call you, then?" He tells her, "Fergus."  Cut to Dil.

            DIL: Fergus.  My love. Light of my life.

'           FERGUS: Please, Dil!

Camera stays on Fergus.  Dil says, "Can't help it.  You're doing time for me."  Cut to Dil.

            DIL: No greater love, as the man  says.  I wish you'd tell me why.

FERGUS: As the man said, it's in my nature.

            DIL: What's that supposed to mean?

            FERGUS: [he leans forward, ready to tell the entire story.]  Well there's this scorpion, see. And he

                        wants to go across the river . . .

 

CHAPTER 14

 

54.30

 

Cut to high angle of Fergus in his cell, the guard nearby, and Dil sitting across from Fergus. 

FERGUS: [as he begins this story, we hear music come up the background slowly]  . . . and he can't swim.  So he goes to this frog, who naturally can swim, and he says, "Excuse me, Mr. Frog . . . "

The we hear song come up and as the camera tracks away slowly to show the rest of the room , with prisoners and visitors, we can barely make out the rest of Fergus story as the music comes up and we hear the words, "But if you love him, you will give him, even though he's hard to understand, and it you love him, or be proud of, cause after all he's just a man--STANDS BY YOU MAN! And show the world you love him--give him all the love you can.  STAND BY YOUR MAN!

 

CHAPTER 15

 

56.17The rest of the credits roll.  We hear Boy George singing the song, The Crying Game.

 

Summary written by Robert E. Yahnke
Copyright, Robert E. Yahnke,  © 2001
Professor, General College, Univ. of Minnesota
Reprinted by permission of the author
for educational use only