The Commitments (1991)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Alan Parker

Writers (WGA):

Roddy Doyle (novel)
Dick Clement (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 August 1991 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

They Had Absolutely Nothing. But They Were Willing To Risk It All.

Plot:

The travails of Jimmy Rabbitte to form the "World's Hardest Working Band," The Commitments, and bring soul music to the people of Dublin, Ireland.

Plot Keywords:

Band | Ireland | Elvis | Fictional Band | Vulgarity

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 10 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Robert Arkins	...	Jimmy Rabbitte
Michael Aherne	...	Steven Clifford, Piano
Angeline Ball	...	Imelda Quirke, Backup Singer
Maria Doyle Kennedy	...	Natalie Murphy, Backup Singer (as Maria Doyle)
Dave Finnegan	...	Mickah Wallace, Drums
Bronagh Gallagher	...	Bernie McGloughlin, Backup Singer
Félim Gormley	...	Dean Fay, Sax
Glen Hansard	...	Outspan Foster, Guitar
Dick Massey	...	Billy Mooney, Drums (quit)
Johnny Murphy	...	Joey 'The Lips' Fagan, Trumpet
Ken McCluskey	...	Derek Scully, Bass (as Kenneth McCluskey)
Andrew Strong	...	Deco Cuffe
Colm Meaney	...	Jimmy Rabbitte, Sr.
Anne Kent	...	Mrs. Rabbitte
Andrea Corr	...	Sharon Rabbitte

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

Ireland | UK | USA

Language:

English | Irish Gaelic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG | Australia:M | Finland:K-8 | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Beacon Communications

Trivia:

'Colm MacConiomaire', violinist with Glen Hansard's band The Frames, makes a cameo appearance during the auditions as a young violin player.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the group is singing in their new location and the pool hall bully comes in to take the money from Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins) a fight develops and the bully is taken down. As he is led out he screams "You're F***king dead Robert" instead of using the actors stage name of Jimmy.

Quotes:

Jimmy Rabbitte: Who're you, then?
Joey: Are you the one startin the band?
Jimmy Rabbitte: Yeah.
Joey: The name's Joseph Fagin. Joey "The Lips" Fagin.
Jimmy Rabbitte: [sarcastically] And I'm Jimmy "The Bollocks" Rabbitte
Joey: I get mine from my horn playing. How'd you get yours?
Jimmy Rabbitte: Don't get snotty with me.
Joey: I get snotty with no man.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Nanny: Educating Fran (#5.9)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Try A Little Tenderness

How hope can elevate the hopeless

I must confess that this is my favorite movie of all time, and the music plays a large part of why I enjoy it so much. Don't expect stellar acting in this movie unless you want to be let down--though make no mistake, the acting is certainly adequate. The key players in this movie were not chosen for their acting abilities, but rather for their musical talent. The people you see on stage in the movie are the same people who play the music you hear. (If you appreciate soul music, do not pass up the chance to purchase The Commitments Vol. I and Vol. II.) And what a talented assembly of musicians they brought together for this movie. Most astonishing is the lead vocals of prodigy Andrew Strong (playing lead singer Deco Cuffe) whom, at 16 years old at the time of filming, possesses "a voice that Bob Geldof would starve for."

More than anything, this film is about hope. It is about the hopes and dreams of a handful of poor north side Dubliners striving to beat the odds and make something of themselves. The film follows the near-rise and eventual fall of a band that, on the verge of a record deal, could not bear to watch success interfere with their destiny to remain destitute.

But was destitution their destiny after all? "Success of the band was irrelevent," the main protagonist and band manager is told moments after the band breaks up. "You raised their expectations of life--you lifted their horizons!" And indeed, the epilogue reveals that, even though the band itself was a failure, virtually every band member had acheived a greater level of personal acheivement than they had hoped for before they had joined the band.

This is a movie about the raw appeal of soul music; it is a movie about Dubliners; it is a movie about the economic conditions in general that grip Ireland; it is a movie about poor folks who endlessly toil in the vain hope that they can make ends meet. But more than anything, it is a movie about how hope alone can be the ultimate salvation of of those who have nothing else to look forward to.