Bristol Rocks Music Film Review Commitments

Music Film Review
The Commitments

		By Paul Loader
In my humble opinion, ‘The Commitments’ is probably the best music film ever made, and that’s a hard thing for an ardent rocker to admit as the film is all about ‘soul’. The film, based on a short book by ‘Roddy Doyle’ was, believe it of not, intended to be about football, but thankfully ‘Doyle’ realised that a story about a band would fulfil his intentions of a real life study of ‘real people’ on the streets of Dublin far more effectively.
Released in 1991 it was directed by one of our better British directors ‘Alan Parker’ (Evita, Fame, The Wall….oh! and Bugsy Malone), who wanted to find ‘real people’ for his film about……’real people’. So he trawled the pubs and clubs of Dublin looking for kids who were playing in bands, and that pretty much is what the cast is made up of. Amateur musicians and singers with no real experience of acting and certainly not of making feature films. In fact, ‘Andrew Strong’, the lead singer of ‘The Commitments’ was the son of the guy that had been bought in to demonstrate what the music would eventually sound like in the film, and ‘Strong’ has just tagged along with his Dad, and sang a few songs with his Dad’s band.
Anyway, enough facts, to the film! The story of ‘The Commitments’ surrounds a young hustler called Jimmy Rabbitte who agrees to help his two mates put together a band for them, and that band is to play ‘soul’. His reasoning is, when challenged that only black people played soul, that the Irish were the blacks of Europe, and that Dubliners were the blacks of Ireland and that south Dubliners were the blacks of Dublin. And so, as the very, VERY white saxophone player proudly announces to two bemused kids who are watching him rehearse “I’m black and I’m proud”.
Rabbitte spends most of the film in a fantasy dialogue being interview by ‘Terry Wogan’ about the rise and success of the band (now come on, be honest, who hasn’t done that), this adds a narrative to the film as Rabbitte endeavours to find band members, equipment and then gigs.
Great characters include ‘Rabbitte Senior’ played by ‘Colm Meany’, who was already fairly well know on Star Trek the Next Generation by then, as Jimmy’s Elvis Presley obsessed father. ‘Bernie McGloughlin’, played by Bronagh Gallagher, who was a kid who was desperate to escape the tower blocks and whose response to almost any question was “f#### off”. Mickah Wallace, played by ‘Dave Finnegan’ was the bands psychotically violent roadie who went onto become the drummer and Deco Cuffe played by ‘Andrew Strong’ (who unbelievably was only 16 years old at the time), the uncouth but amazingly tonsilled lead singer. And of course Jimmy Rabbitte played by a totally unknown ‘Robert Arkins’, who had originally auditioned for the role of Deco and who was in fact the most gifted musician in the cast (but never even got to pick up a guitar for his role).

The premise of the film is simple. Put a band together to escape the drudgery of the backside of Dublin. Find band members, play a gig…..nearly kill the bass player…..by electrocution. Band starts to get popular, band members start to bicker. Promised much by record company, and even to have vintage soul God ‘Wilson Pickett’ jam with the band. However, none of this gets realised as the band implodes and it all ends in a fight.

Sounds fairly predicable I know. But anybody who has ever played in a band will recognise shades of their own journey in this film, and appreciate the familiarity. I mean, who hasn’t wanted to punch their loud mouthed arrogant lead singer on the nose from time to time (fellow band mates of The Mudheads need not respond to that thank you very much). How many bands have lost a vital member just because they couldn’t stick the singer (again). How many bands have fallen apart because the drummer has gone to bed with one of the backing singers (in this case the trumpet player bedded all three backing singers…….who were very attractive women I might add), and this has caused resentment and jealousy. How many bands have given up, just as they were about to make it (I once played in a band that knocked it on the head just six weeks before a major American tour and record deal). If you don’t recognise some of the frustrations, some of the highs, most of the lows and all of the laughs, then I suggest that you have never really played in a band at all. At its heart, ‘The Commitments’ is warm and very funny. The air remaining so blue throughout the film that you could swim in it, and yet it never feels over the top, contrived or out of place. The cast use their own language and pretty much, most of their own dialogue. Following the films success, two or three of the cast went on to make careers for themselves in acting. A couple became musicians or producers and several put ‘The Commitments’ together and continue to tour with lunatic drummer ‘Dave Finnegan’ on vocals. Interestingly I know a little of ‘Andrew Strong’s journey since the film as he has worked with one of my closet friends, ‘Jez Coad’, who has produced several albums for him. Surprisingly enough ‘Strong’ never wanted to be a soul singer at all but wanted to perform in a rock band (much respect there) and that’s pretty much what he did, building quite a career for himself in metal loving Germany. He has toured with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Prince, Lenny Kravitz and Bryan Adams, although rumor has it that he has recently been seen singing with ‘The Commitments’, whether that is true or not I don’t know. Either way, if you are in Tesco’s and you happen across a copy of ‘The Commitments’ in the bargain bin. Do your self a favour and throw it in the trolley. You won’t regret it.