Taglines: They had nothing to lose, they risked it all.
The Commitments movie storyline. In the Northside of Dublin, Ireland, Jimmy Rabbitte is a young music fanatic who aspires to manage an Irish soul band in the tradition of 1960s African-American recording artists. He places an advert in the local newspaper and holds auditions in his parents’ home.
After being deluged by scores of disastrous performers, Jimmy decides to put together a band consisting of friends and people he encounters—lead singer Deco Cuffe, guitarist Outspan Foster, pianist Steven Clifford, saxophonist Dean Fay, bassist Derek Scully, drummer Billy Mooney, and female backup singers Bernie McGloughlin, Natalie Murphy and Imelda Quirke. Jimmy then meets 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 Joey’s mother, Jimmy secures the remainder of the band’s musical equipment from Duffy, a black market dealer. The band rehearses on the second 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 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 begins seducing Imelda, Natalie and Bernie, and Deco grows increasingly obnoxious and unruly. 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 Deco—much to Jimmy’s frustration—and Mickah replaces him as the band’s drummer. During the band’s next performance at a roller disco, 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.
The Commitments is a 1991 Irish-British-American musical comedy-drama film directed by Alan Parker. The film is an adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s 1987 novel of the same name, the first book in his Barrytown Trilogy. The story follows Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins), a young music fanatic living in the Dublin Northside who assembles a group of working-class youths to form a soul band named “The Commitments”.
The Commitments (1991)
Directed by: Alan Parker
Starring: Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle, Dave Finnegan, Bronagh Gallagher, Félim Gormley, Glen Hansard, Dick Massey, Johnny Murphy
Screenplay by: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Roddy Doyle
Production Design by: Brian Morris
Cinematography by: Gale Tattersall
Film Editing by: Gerry Hambling
Costume Design by: Penny Rose
Set Decoration by: Karen Brookes
Art Direction by: Arden Gantly, Mark Geraghty
Music by: Wilson Pickett
MPAA Rating: R for language.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: August 14, 1991
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