Have You Got Soul

Rating: 8/10 (3 December 1999)

The Commitments is the story of Jimmy Rabitte's quest to assemble a "true to its roots" soul based band comprised of working class Ireland's hungry musicians. Despite the fact that most of his recruits aren't even familiar with soul music, he manages to come up with something quite wonderful. Director Alan Parker (Midnight Express, Mississippi Burning, Pink Floyd: The Wall) manages to do it again in this one. The story is simple but its the dialogue and the acting that make it so great, (not to mention the soundtrack). Parker assebled a group of unknowns (Excluding Colm Meaney as Jimmy's Elvis worshiping dad) and when he finished he had a dynamite band that also prove to be able actors as well. The band is a diverse group of people and their escapades throughout the film are heartfelt yet laughable at times. Standout performances go to Robert Arkins ("Brother Rabitte"), Johnny Murphy ("Joey The Lips"...and the band's spiritual guide), and Andrew Strong whose incredible voice fronts the band (its hard to believe that voice belongs to a 16 year old). Strong is essentially a younger Joe Cocker. The film is never boring, the music is fantasic and the cinematography and direction are excellent. All in all "The Commitments" is is one of those films that you can watch over and over again and not get tired of. Its just a whole lot of fun.

SSB - December 3, 1999 - NYC