SYNOPSICS
Commandments (1997) is a English movie. Daniel Taplitz has directed this movie. Aidan Quinn,Courteney Cox,Anthony LaPaglia,Shirl Bernheim are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1997. Commandments (1997) is considered one of the best Comedy,Drama,Romance movie in India and around the world.
Seth Warner has reached the end of his rope. Ever since his wife died two years earlier, his world has been in turmoil. He is despondent, his career has fallen apart, even his house has been destroyed. There seems to be nothing left for him to live for. Confused and angry after two years of suffering, he finally directs his wrath at God from the rooftop of his apartment building in New York City. In the midst of a wild thunderstorm he demands to know why he has been betrayed by the god he has believed in and honored his whole life. God's answer is to strike down Seth's dog in a bolt of lightning. Pushed beyond his limits, Seth decides to respond to his years of torment by breaking each of the biblical Ten Commandments. While staying with his sister-in-law, Rachel, much to the chagrin of her shifty reporter husband, Harry, he systematically sets out to break each commandment one by one. A natural at breaking commandments, Harry is drawn to Seth's mission in the hopes of using it to ...
Commandments (1997) Reviews
Disappointing.
The idea (a man thinks he has been targeted for suffering by God, so he decides to get his revenge by breaking the Ten Commandments one by one) is intriguing. It's so intriguing, in fact, that this was one of the very rare instances where I happened to rent a film without having heard a single thing about it beforehand, based solely on the plot synopsis on the video cover instead. Unfortunately the film turned out to be a messy talkathon. It is certainly offbeat and beautifully photographed, but it seems to lack a clear sense of direction, of where it is going and what point it is trying to make, and the characters are not sufficiently developed. The writer-director of this film poses thought-provoking, eternal theological questions ("If God is able but unwilling to prevent evil, isn't it logical to assume He is malevolent?"), but perhaps lacks the courage to follow his premise through to the end. (**)
very black, dramatic comedy
Fine film about a man who lost his wife, and as a result begins to question the motives of God. He has all these emotional problems while his arrogant brother-in-law is doing fine while totally ignoring any religious commitments; which the brother-in-law makes his relative very aware of. However, in the end things do not remain the same for arrogant in-law. Nor for the man who lost his wife. This film may bother some Christians at first, but in the end I think this film will be accepted as giving a positive message about theology. The ending was surprising and gratifying.
Jonas in Montauk
What's a man to do when everything he holds dear is taken away from him? Rant, try to get even, and start questioning everything he has known up that point. Or go one step further, and try to break every one of the ten commandments he has known, as he struggles with a God that has suddenly abandoned him. Daniel Taplitz, the writer and director of "Commandments", shows some originality in the way he presents this story. He gives us Seth, who is seen at the start of the film with his lovely wife in Montauk, Long Island, at an idyllic spot, where she mysteriously disappears. This young man is at the end of his rope, and we next see him on the roof of his house when thunder strikes. Rachel, who is Seth's sister-in-law, and her husband Harry, offer this distraught man their home while he recuperates from his injuries. Seth discovers in the process a duplicity in Harry, he never knew about. Seth sees in Rachel a mirror image of his own wife; he feels the solution for solving the mystery of all that has fallen on him lies in that remote spot where we first saw him in Montauk. The ending of the story produces an unexpected turn of events of biblical proportions in which Seth seems to have been cleaned and saved by the same forces he has tried to rebel against. Aidan Quinn plays Seth, the man who is made miserable by what he perceives is a God that has forsaken him. The great Anthony LaPaglia, again, outdoes himself in the way he portrays Harry, a man of no scruples, and shady principles. Courteney Cox makes a valuable contribution to the film. Daniel Taplitz, is a new talent that seems to have a clear vision of where he wants to go and is not afraid to show it. While this is not a religious film, in any shape, or form, he seems to be deeply interested in presenting a story, that takes a look at religion and dogma while questioning different contradictions in them.
Although Being One of the Weirdest Movies I Ever Seen, It Is Also an Enjoyable and Intriguing Black Humor Film With an Outstanding Cast
Seth Warner (Aidan Quinn) is a deranged and very confused man, since he lost almost simultaneously his pregnant wife in the sea, his house in a hurricane and his job. He believes God has a plan for him, and he decides to challenge God, breaking the ten commandments, to press Him to show his destiny. After a breakdown, when Seth tried to commit suicide, his sister-in-law and lawyer Rachel Luce (the gorgeous Courtney Cox) invites him to spend some days in her apartment to rest and recover his health. This invitation is made under the protest of her husband, the journalist and scum Harry Luce (Anthony LaPaglia). Many strange events happen along Seth's attempting of pressing God to show the fate He has planned for him. First of all, this is one of the weirdest movie I have ever seen. The story is unpredictable and we never know what is going to happen next. In the middle of the plot, the movie loses the rhythm a little bit, but its conclusion is very reasonable. This movie plays with religion, using a very black humor. But maybe its greatest point is the outstanding cast. In my opinion, Aidan Quinn, Anthony LaPaglia and Courtney Cox are excellent actors and actress, unfortunately underrated in the cinema industry. I have seen many good movies with them, but they are not promoted as other less talented actors and actresses. Courtney Cox is also a very beautiful woman, and it is a great pleasure for my eyes to see her good performance on the screen. This film is not indicated for all audiences, since it plays with religion. Some persons may feel offended with the jokes. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): `Quebrando os 10 Mandamentos' (`Breaking the Ten Commandments)
Interesting, dark work
There's good work being done here by the principals--I can't decide which of them I like the most, really, although Anthony LaPaglia's noirish everyday scumbag is the best-written of the three. While the story has its weaknesses, it works fine enough for this sort of unassuming film that tells a story in its own meandering way. Courtney Cox finally comes out of her shell, finally playing a likable character, and she proves a worthy receptacle for most of the camera's adoration. All around, a good date rental for those who won't be put off by the sacreligious plotline.