well lets finish this one first imo... seem to stalling a bit, here are my writeups for last two picks:
Round 11:
The Crying Game
I would not have been shocked had this movie gone in the first two rounds and i'm kindof shocked it's going this late. The Crying Game is a multi-level hostage/romance/sexually laced political thriller. The main character Fergus is an IRA agent who is put in charge of looking after a hostage the IRA have taken to counter the British taking one of their own men hostage. The man, Jody, played by Forest Whitaker in one of his best performances, who is a soilder himself for the British, becomes friends with Fergus while he is holding him hostage. They tell each other stories about their lives, including Jody telling Fergus about his lover, Dil. I won't reveal much more of the story, but circumstances lead to Fergus eventually becoming friends with Dil after leaving the IRA, a ****storm ensues.
This movie is well known for it's sexual "twist" and quite frankly, while i don't think Neil Jordan meant it to be as surprising as some people think, it's still well handled within the film, so that when Fergus is shown the truth, we are right there along with him for the ride, even though we suspected the truth beforehand. Because of the content, the movie could have easily gone into campy, ridiculous territory quick, but the main characters reaction to revelation and the continuing threat of the crazy IRA characters seeking revenge on Fergus, mainly Miranda Richardson's crazy Jude, keep the story running and full of intrigue. I like most of Neil Jordan's films, this one is easily one of his best.