The Commitments (film)

1991 Irish film directed by Alan Parker
the 1991 Irish film

The Commitments is a 1991 musical comedy drama film based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Roddy Doyle. It was directed by Alan Parker from a screenplay written by Doyle, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. Set in the Northside of Dublin, the film tells the story of Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins), a young music fanatic who assembles a group of working class youths to form a soul band named "The Commitments". The film is the first in a series known as The Barrytown Trilogy, followed by The Snapper (1993) and The Van (1996). Producers Lynda Myles and Roger Randall Cutler acquired the film rights to the novel in 1988, and commissioned Doyle, a first time screenwriter, to write an adaptation. Doyle spent one year working on the script before Myles brought in veteran screenwriters Clement and La Frenais to help complete it. Upon reading the novel, Parker signed on as the film's director in 1989. An international co production between Ireland, the United States and the United Kingdom, The Commitments was the first film produced by Beacon Pictures, which provided an estimated budget of $12–15 million. The film's young lead actors were mostly inexperienced, and were cast because of their musical backgrounds and resemblance to the characters in the novel. Principal photography took place in Dublin, from late August to October, 1990. The Commitments underperformed at the North American box office, grossing $14.9 million during its theatrical run. Reviewers praised the music, performances and humour, while criticism was occasionally aimed at the pacing and Parker's direction. The film resulted in two soundtrack albums released by MCA Records; the first reached number eight on the Billboard 200 album chart and achieved triple platinum status, while the second album achieved gold sales status. At the 1992 British Academy Film Awards, the film won four of six BAFTA Awards for Best Film, Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing. It also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing. The film has since gained cult status.

In the Northside of Dublin, Ireland, Jimmy Rabbitte is a young music fanatic who aspires to manage an Irish soul and rock and roll band in the tradition of 1950s and 60s African American recording artists. He places an advert in the local newspaper and holds auditions in his parents' home. After being deluged by several unsuitable performers, Jimmy decides to put together a band consisting of friends and people he encounters—lead singer Deco Cuffe, guitarist Outspan Foster, keyboardist Steven Clifford, alto saxophonist Dean Fay, bassist Derek Scully, drummer Billy Mooney, and female backup singers Bernie McGloughlin, Natalie Murphy and Imelda Quirke. Jimmy then meets trumpeter Joey "The Lips" Fagan, a veteran musician who offers his services, and has unlikely stories about meeting and working with famous musicians. Joey names the band "The Commitments". After purchasing a drum set and acquiring a piano from Steven's grandmother, Jimmy secures the remainder of the band's musical equipment from Duffy, a black market dealer. The band rehearses on the second floor above a snooker hall, and after much practice, they convince a local church community centre to give them a gig, under the pretence of it being an anti heroin campaign. Jimmy then hires Mickah Wallace, a affable bouncer known for being a savage fighter, to act as the band's security. The band draws a good crowd, but after Deco inadvertently hits Derek with his microphone stand, the amplifiers explode, resulting in a power outage. Tensions run high among the band members, as Joey seduces Natalie, then Bernie, then Imelda, all while Deco grows increasingly obnoxious and unruly, believing himself to be the star of the band. The band performs at another venue where, at the end of one song, Billy accidentally knocks over his hi hat cymbals, leading to a heated argument between him and Deco. Billy leaves the band in fear of going to jail if he beats up Decomuch to Jimmy's frustrationand Mickah replaces him as the band's drummer. During the band's next performance at a roller disco, their first paying gig, Jimmy is confronted by Duffy, who demands payment for the equipment he provided the band. Mickah intervenes and violently attacks Duffy, who is escorted out. Jimmy then goes on stage and introduces the band, which elicits boisterous cheers from the audience. After the band secures another gig, Joey promises Jimmy that he can get his friend, Wilson Pickett, to sing alongside them. On this promise, Jimmy convinces several journalists to attend the band's next performance. At the venue, the band draws a large crowd, but its members begin arguing with each other offstage, and become doubtful when it appears that Pickett will not show. They go back on stage, where Deco denounces Jimmy for misleading the audience about Pickett's appearance; the band's performance of one of Pickett's songs, "In the Midnight Hour", silences the crowd's protests. After the performance, the fighting continues; during a heated argument, Mickah beats up Deco outside the club, and Jimmy storms off in frustration, claiming that the band is finished. Joey follows Jimmy, who berates him for misleading the band about Pickett. Just as Joey leaves, Pickett's limousine pulls up next to Jimmy, and his driver asks for directions to the club, revealing that Joey was telling the truth about Pickett, he just showed up too late. In a closing monologue, Jimmy explains that the band's members have since gone their separate ways; Bernie joined a country band, Deco got his record deal and became a bigger egomaniac, Mickah sings for a punk band, Outspan & Derek still play as street buskers, Dean formed a jazz band, Joey's mother got a postcard that he was touring with Joe Tex (who had died a decade prior), Steven became a doctor but misses playing music, Billy is recovering from getting kicked in the head by a horse, Imelda married Greg (who won't let her sing anymore), Natalie became a successful solo singer, and implies that she and Jimmy are in a relationship.

In addition, comedian Sean Hughes played Dave from Eejit Records while Maura O'Malley played Joey's mother. Besides Andrea, the other three members of The Corrs appear in the film, with Jim Corr in a credited role and Sharon and Caroline Corr in brief background roles. The film's director, Alan Parker, plays an unnamed producer at Eejit Records at the end of the film. While the Jimmy character regularly voices both sides of his imaginary interview on the Terry Wogan show, Wogan does not appear, and Sir Terry was reportedly not a fan of the film.

The Commitments grossed $271,333 on its first week of limited release in North America—an average of $33,916 per theater. The film grossed an additional $268,653 in its second weekend, with an overall domestic gross of $775,824. and the 42nd highest grossing R rated film of that year. The film was the highest grossing film in Ireland of all time with a gross of IR£2.23 million ($3.5 million). It grossed £8,285,701 in the UK. The DVD presents the film in standard definition. Special features include a making of featurette, a music video for the song "Treat Her Right", a theatrical trailer, and CD sampler that plays four songs from the motion picture soundtrack. The Commitments was released on Blu ray on 30 August 2016 by RLJ Entertainment, coinciding with the film's 25th anniversary. The Blu ray presents the film in 1080p high definition, and contains all the additional materials found on the Special Edition DVD, as well as new interviews with Parker and the cast, and a collective booklet featuring production notes written by Parker.

The Commitments received mostly positive reviews. It is also ranked sixth on the website's best reviewed films of 1991. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 73 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Roddy Doyle, author of the 1987 novel, praised the film, stating that Parker and the filmmakers did a "terrific job". Variety magazine called the film "well executed and original", and praised the performances as well as the editing by Gerry Hambling. Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader wrote, "If [Parker] can't resist the occasional fancy or cutesy flourishes  that tend to compromise his work, he still allows his material to exist on its own level and makes it fun to watch." Hal Hinson of The Washington Post described the film as "a deadly funny movie; nearly every scene is broken off with a punch line. But Parker's sense of comedy is organic; he never lets the jokes elbow the characters, or the music, out of the spotlight." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times also praised Parker's direction, writing, "  Parker has loosened up quite a bit here, not forcing the action as much as he did in the similar Fame and bringing a surprisingly loony touch to characters like Jimmy's Elvis obsessed father." Time magazine reviewer Richard Corliss wrote, "The film offers no message, no solutions, only a great time at the movies." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times wrote that the film was "filled with life and energy, and the music is honest." On the syndicated television program Siskel & Ebert At the Movies, Ebert gave the film a "Thumbs Up" rating, while his colleague Gene Siskel gave the film a "Thumbs Down". Siskel, writing for the Chicago Tribune, felt that the film was "a joyful but empty mixture of Irish kids and black American soul music". In his review for Entertainment Weekly, Owen Gleiberman criticized the overall premise as being "downright insulting", explaining, "In Parker's hands, soul music becomes little more than a self serving metaphor – an easy symbol for 'commitment' and integrity." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone criticized the storytelling, writing in his review, "  the predictable way in which the band's nine men and three women argue about music, sex and fame robs the story of urgency." Janet Maslin of The New York Times stated, "The Commitments becomes repetitive after a while, since so much of it is about the group's stage show, and since the effort to create an off stage story never really works." David Denby of New York Magazine felt that the film has "a raspy surface authenticity and a great deal of affection for its characters and milieu but not much dramatic interest."

In January 2000, it was announced that Harvey Weinstein had acquired the film rights to the novel for Miramax The sequel was never produced.

Doyle's novel inspired a 2013 musical stage production, directed by British theatre director Jamie Lloyd. Following the film's success, Doyle had previously turned down offers to adapt his novel into a stage production. The Commitments began previews on 21 September 2013 in London's West End at the Palace Theatre. Its official opening night was on 8 October 2013. The show had more than 1,000 performances before officially closing in London on 1 November 2015. It has been announced that a United Kingdom and Ireland tour will commence in 2017.