The Commitments (89%)

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

I have always wanted to see Alan parker's The Commitments. I remember how when I was a young tyke my parents raved about this film. I also remember catching glimpses of the film (five minutes here and there) on television and not really getting it. But I was pretty young and it obviously wasn't made for the young minded or just plain young viewer.

So last night I popped in the DVD and watched what is apparently a very a good movie. Was it? Oh yes, a very good movie it was. Starring a cast of relative unknowns at the time, and Colm Meany who made it famous on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and directed by Alan Parker, The Commitments is an absolutely wonderful film that is chock full of joy and life, homour and sadness and really is just over an hour and a half of pure viewing pleasure.

The film tells the beginnings of a fictional Irish soul band called The Commitments. It starts with two members and their manager and goes on to tell how the band is formed and the troubles between the bandmates. Throughout the film you can see that they are destined for greatness but at the same time you can see how they are destined to fall apart. As you watch the film you will be wondering if they will succeed or if they will fall apart at the seems. I'll leave it to you to discover what happens.

The acting is stellar from everyone involved.You would never be able to tell that most of these performers weren't actors or at least have never acted before. Colm Meany is fantastic as one of the main character's dad; an Elvis loving wannabe singer who is resistant at first but ends up loving the sounds of soul. His son Jimmy, played by Robert Arkins, is excellent as well. When he gives his speech about soul and the Irish and why soul is so important to the culture and the band, it makes the viewer want to go and buy (or download) as much soul as they can get their hands on.

The rest of the cast is equally good in their roles and its nice to see Parker return to form as an actor's director after some weaker performances he captured in Come See the Paradise. In fact, The Commitments has turned out to be his best film since his early glory days in the late seventies and early eighties. Everything about this film works, from the costumes to the make-up; the cinematography to the editing; the directing to the acting; the stellar script to the top notch sets and locales.

The music too, is fantastic! When you hear the band first perform Mustang Sally in rehearsals it sounds rough and doesn't really work that well, but later in the film, when they perform it live it is legendary and really has become the go to version of that song. The Commitments could only be directed by Alan Parker. Like Fame it is a musical without being a musical. The actors perform the songs on screen as much of the movie has them singing but it is done as part of the story and feels very much like Fame. By that I mean it feels organic and is part of these characters lives more than say breaking out into song and dance out of the blue. Parker is really the best at doing this kind of movie and he was the perfect choice for this film.

I'm a fan of soul music, but never has it been my number one choice in music. In fact I own very little soul music, minus a bit of Otis Redding and a few other choice cuts. But this film, while watching it, makes me love the music. It makes me feel the passion and hits me way down in my soul. Like most of Parker's films, I now want to own the soundtrack.

Musical movies don't get much better than this. The Commitments cements Parker as the go to guy for  musical-less musicals. The go to guy for music inspired movies and the go to guy for large ensemble casts for films about music and the arts. There is very little to complain about with this film, right now all I can say is that maybe it was just a bit too short (and I never say that). The script is perfect, the acting great, the music awe-inspiring, the directing stellar, the editing perfect. I guess one other bad thing about this film is that it makes me sad that I can't perform like these guys (I've tried but sadly I suck). In a word: Sensational!!!


Film Rating: 89%

Breakdown (How The Commitments scored 89%):

Production Design: 8 out of 10
Cinematography: 8 out of 10
Re-playability: 9 out of 10
Originality: 8 out of 10
Costumes:  9 out of 10
Directing: 10 out of 10
Editing: 9 out of 10
Acting: 9 out of 10
Music: 10 out of 10

Script: 9 out of 10