The Commitments is a 1991 musical comedy-drama film based on the 1987 eponymous novel by Roddy Doyle. It was directed by Alan Parker from a screenplay written by Doyle, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. Set in the Northside of Dublin, the film tells the story of Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins), a young music fanatic who assembles a group of working-class youths to form a soul band named “The Commitments”. The film is the first in a series known as The Barrytown Trilogy, followed by The Snapper (1993) and The Van (1996).
Producers Lynda Myles and Roger Randall-Cutler acquired the film rights to the novel in 1988, and commissioned Doyle, a first-time screenwriter, to write an adaptation. Doyle spent one year working on the script before Myles brought in veteran screenwriters Clement and La Frenais to help complete it. Upon reading the novel, Parker signed on as the film’s director in 1989. An international co-production between Ireland, the US and the UK, The Commitments was the first film produced by Beacon Pictures, which provided an estimated budget of $12–15 million. The film’s young lead actors were mostly inexperienced, and were cast because of their musical backgrounds and resemblance to the characters in the novel. Principal photography took place in Dublin, from late August to October, 1990.
The Commitments underperformed at the North American box office, grossing $14.9 million during its theatrical run. Reviewers praised the music, performances and humour, while criticism was occasionally aimed at the pacing and Parker’s direction. The film resulted in two soundtrack albums released by MCA Records; the first reached number eight on the Billboard and achieved triple platinum status, while the second album achieved gold sales status. At the 1992 British Academy Film Awards, the film won four of six BAFTA Awards for Best Film, Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Ending, an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing. The film has since gained cult status.
The Commitments does not have an original film score, but features existing music tracks. Music supervisor G. Marq Roswell spent several months during the film’s pre-production listening to and categorizing hundreds of R&B songs before travelling to Dublin, Ireland to help Parker finalize songs that would be used in the film. Parker and Roswell had created a “short list” of 1,000 possible song choices. From May to June 1990, Parker had listened to more than 300 songs from the 1960s before narrowing his choices down to 75 songs.
The finished film features 68 different musical cues and 52 songs. 24 songs were chosen by the director to be performed by the cast. Roswell also organized and oversaw the recording sessions. The songs were recorded live on set, as Parker wanted to capture the reality of the band’s rehearsals and performances. The filmmakers used out-of-phase speakers, which enabled them to play pre-recorded tracks at maximum volume, creating a live performance atmosphere. Each song was then recorded onto a 24-track recorder.
