The Commitments is an Irish film directed by Alan Parker in 1991. It’s the story of a handful of penniless Irishmen who decide to form a soul band together and set the Dublin clubs alight at night… But the challenge is not without its pitfalls!
1980, in the working-class districts of Dublin. In a town plagued by unemployment, Jimmy Rabite struggles to make a name for himself with his soul band, made up of guitarist and bassist Outspan Foster and Derek Scully. Up until then, they had mostly played at weddings, singing soul tunes not always to the taste of Dubliners.
Jimmy soon got fed up with the hassle, and decided to recruit new members for the group, organizing a casting session at his home. Lots of people turn up, showing off their talent (or lack of it), playing every style of music from trad and punk to rock and pop…
Everything can be performed, from the greatest songs to the worst horrors, in any room, from the kitchen to the bathroom to the garage…
Little by little, Jimmy Rabite put his band together, trained it and negotiated gigs in local clubs… But the eternal question remains: will their soulful music appeal to the masses?
Alan Parker’s film can sometimes seem light-hearted… It’s no less entertaining for that, and takes a critical look at an Ireland of the 80s exhausted by unemployment and poverty. Set against the backdrop of a working-class district of Dublin, Alan Parker paints a rather caustic portrait of the Irish island, both multi-cultural and entangled in its traditions.
Who would have thought that a soul band could make such a splash when the general trend seemed to be towards trad music? By forming a group out of odds and ends, the character Jimmy Rabite seems to reinstill hope in the heads of its members.
Although the latter live in poor neighborhoods (assimilated to ghettos), we quickly feel the analogy between the poor neighborhoods of Brooklyn in New York, and their pleasure in taking refuge in music. At times, these Irish people are even likened to blacks, despised by the rest of Europe, which is less affected by poverty than Ireland. The proof is in this quote from the film:
“You guys just don’t get it! The Irish are the blacks of Europe! In Dublin, we’re Ireland’s blacks, and those from the northern districts are Dublin’s blacks!”
Music seems to deliver them from this bitter situation, where unemployment and contempt painfully coexist in the toughest neighborhoods. A fine attempt by Alan Parker, who brilliantly demonstrates the incredible power of music over men…
4.30/5 (10 votes)
