The Commitments

Based on a book by Roddy Doyle, The Commitments details the trials and tribulations of several characters as they attempt to overcome personal issues to transform their fledgling band into a bona fide success. Filmmaker Alan Parker does a superb job of instantly luring the viewer into the deliberately-paced proceedings, as The Commitments boasts a tremendously appealing first act that’s focused on aspiring producer Jimmy Rabbitte’s (Robert Arkins) efforts at putting together the title musical group – with the assortment of eclectic characters certainly enhancing and heightening the movie’s impressively affable atmosphere. It’s clear, then, that Parker’s lackadaisical approach to Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, and Doyle’s script paves the way for an entertaining yet decidedly erratic midsection, as the movie’s unabashedly plotless sensibilities results in a lack of urgency that can certainly be felt in several key sequences. (The uniformly agreeable performances, coupled with irresistible musical numbers, effectively allays the somewhat hit-and-miss vibe.) The energetic and uplifting third act undoubtedly ensures that The Commitments concludes on as positive a note as one could envision, which ultimately does secure the movie’s place as a solid (albeit slightly overlong) adaptation of Doyle’s novel.

*** out of ****