[cert 15, 120 mins]
Jimmy Rabbitte, just out of school, gets a
brilliant idea: to put a soul band together in
Barrytown, his slum home in north Dublin. First he
needs musicians and singers: things slowly start to
click when he finds three fine-voiced females
virtually in his back yard, a lead singer (Deco) at a
wedding, and, responding to his ad, an aging
trumpet player, Joey “The Lips” Fagan. Song by
song, gig by gig, the Commitments start their climb
to the top: Dublin gets soul. But internal strife also
builds: Deco is insufferable, Joey’s a Casanova, and
Jimmy may lack the seasoning to hold things
together. Will the Commitments slip away?
Director:Alan Parker
Starring:Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball
Level:AS, A2, Scottish Highers
Subjects:Film Studies, Media Studies
