The Man Who Sued God (2001)

Director:

Mark Joffe

Writers:

John Clarke (original screenplay)
Patrick McCarville (story)

Release Date:

25 October 2001 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Billy Connolly plays Steve Myers, a lawyer who became a fisherman from frustration. When his one piece of property...

Plot Keywords:

God | Insurance | Lawyer | Act Of God | Lightning

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Billy Connolly	...	Steve Myers
Judy Davis	...	Anna Redmond
Colin Friels	...	David Myers
Wendy Hughes	...	Jules Myers
Bille Brown	...	Gerry Ryan
John Howard	...	Edward Piggott
Emily Browning	...	Rebecca Myers
Blair Venn	...	Les
Vincent Ball	...	Cardinal
Tim Robertson	...	Judge Bonaface
Linal Haft	...	Rabbi
Peter Whitford	...	Moderator
Frank Whitten	...	Primate
Steve Jacobs	...	Hal
Richard Carter	...	Dirk Streicher

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Denmark:7 | UK:15 | Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Bermagui, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dave throws the newspaper on top of Steve as he's lying in bed, the second shot of Steve shows no newspaper lying on his upper body, but the third and fourth shots show the newspaper again.

Quotes:

Doctor: Forceps. Pliers. Bone nibblers.
Steve Meyers: Bone nibblers? What the hell are bone nibblers?
Doctor: You're a very lucky man.
Steve Meyers: Oh yes, it's been a brilliant day all round. Why don't you have a look at my prostate while you've got the bone nibblers handy.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Getaway: (#15.33)" (2006)

Typical Connolly Fare

The story's an excellent one. A fisherman see his boat get hit by lightning, but the insurance company won't pay up as they call it an "Act Of God", so he decides to sue God - well the leaders of the churches, anyway.

I wish Billy Connolly would play less roles where he's called upon to be Billy Connolly, where there's no at all the swearing and being Scottish - he can be a really good actor, and he sort of is in this. Judy Davis, however, isn't convincing, but I'm sure that's the fault of the role or the writing, rather than Ms Davis herself.

At first thought, the ending seems to be very Hollywood, but in the time since I saw the film, it would appear that perhaps it was the best possible conclusion. The two other possible endings - one would have been even more Hollywood and the other one would have been a disappointment.

(And on a minor point, I think this was the first time I've ever seen a movie or TV show set in Sydney that didn't go for the stock cliche of shots of the Harbour Bridge and/or the Opera House - kudos to the writers for not being formulaic in that respect).