The Commitments is a 1991 musical comedy-drama film based on the 1987 novel 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.
Plot 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 backing 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 first 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 belligerent and hot-tempered bouncer, 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. Joey apologizes to Jimmy, and assures him that despite the band breaking up, Jimmy is still a success for helping the others realize their self worth and potential to rise above their previous lot in life. 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 successful 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.
Cast
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.
Production
Development
Following the 1988 publication of Roddy Doyle's novel The Commitments (1987) in the United Kingdom, producers Lynda Myles and Roger Randall-Cutler acquired the film rights, and asked Doyle to write an adaptation. Doyle, an inexperienced screenwriter, spent one year drafting the script, accompanied by Myles and Randall-Cutler. Although a script was completed, Myles felt it needed improvement, and passed the book on to Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, hoping that they would suggest a more experienced writer. Upon reading the novel, Clement and La Frenais agreed to help write the script themselves.
In 1989, Myles took the project to Beacon Pictures, an independent film company established that year by Armyan Bernstein, a former television journalist turned screenwriter and producer. Clement and La Frenais traveled to Los Angeles to discuss the project with Alan Parker, and gave him a copy of the novel. Upon reading the novel, Parker was intrigued by its dialogue and humour, stating, "The book was all dialogue with very little description, but by the use of this wonderful language, and almost nothing but language, in a few lines [Doyle] was able to make his characters as vivid and strong as a dozen pages of purple Joycian prose." He signed on to direct the project after concluding work on his previous film Come See the Paradise (1990). After Beacon agreed to finance the film, 20th Century Fox acquired the North American and UK distribution rights, and Parker was given creative control. The film was an international co-production between companies in the United Kingdom and the United States. Randall-Cutler's The First Film Company and Parker's Dirty Hands Productions, both based in England, were enlisted as production companies. Parker and the producers later attended the 1990 Cannes Film Festival to secure worldwide pre-sales.
Casting Casting directors John and Ros Hubbard travelled to Dublin, Ireland in April 1990 and spent two months visiting local clubs in their search for musicians to appear in the film. In June of that year, Parker travelled to Dublin and placed an advertisement in the magazine Hot Press, requesting young artists to audition for roles in the film. Parker wanted actors who could play a musical instrument and resembled the characters from the novel. He said, "I would stop kids busking on the streets and call them in to audition ... we had to choose kids who were quite talented, because they had to play musicians who were awful at first, but gradually improved."
Auditions were first held at The Waterfront, a nightclub located near the River Liffey. Jim Corr and his sisters Andrea Corr, Sharon Corr and Caroline Corr were among those who auditioned. Andrea was cast in the non-musical role of Sharon Rabbitte, Jimmy's younger sister, while Sharon and Caroline were cast as members of an Irish band known as "Country & Western"; Jim appears in a brief role as a member of the band "Avant-Garde-A-Clue". Parker then held a casting call at the Mansion House on Dawson Street, Dublin, where 1,500 people auditioned for various roles. During the auditions, Parker met Andrew Strong, son of the film's vocal coach Rob Strong, who performed "Mustang Sally". After meeting with Parker to discuss the project, Strong secured the role of Deco Cuffe, the lead singer of The Commitments. Robert Arkins was initially considered for the role of Deco before he was ultimately cast as Jimmy Rabbitte. Although his character does not have a singing part in the film, Arkins performs the song "Treat Her Right" during the opening credits.
For the role of Joey "the Lips" Fagan, the eldest member of the band, Parker and La Frenais wanted veteran musician Van Morrison. Although his meeting with Parker did not go well, Morrison offered his songs for use in the film. Rory Gallagher was also considered before veteran film and stage actor Johnny Murphy secured the role. Although Murphy could not play an instrument, Parker felt that he best captured the essence of both the character and the film. Murphy was the only cast member who did not do his own playing in the film. Bronagh Gallagher, another established actor, was cast as Bernie McGloughlin, one of the band's three backup singers known as "The Commitmentettes". The actress, born in Derry, Northern Ireland, had to learn a Dublin accent for the role. Angeline Ball secured the role of Imelda Quirke after a private audition with the Hubbards.
Maria Doyle Kennedy was a member of the Irish quartet band The Black Velvet Band before she was cast as Commitmentette singer Natalie Murphy. Michael Aherne, who plays The Commitments' pianist Steven Clifford, was an employee of the Dublin Corporation and took a three-month leave of absence to make the film. Future Oscar-winner Glen Hansard, the lead singer of The Frames, was cast as Outspan Foster, the band's guitarist.