Name: Retro Film Review: Commandments (1997)
Item: Commandments
Rating: 40
Author: @drax

(source:tmdb.org)

Some films are tragic not for what they are but what they could have been. Commandments, 1997 comedy written and directed by Daniel Taplitz belongs to such category. The bravery of the author in choosing the difficult topic wasn't awarded by good film.

The protagonist is Seth Warner (played by Aidan Quinn), successful physician who is going to lose all which is near and dear to him. In very short time his pregnant wife disappears in the sea, his house is wrecked by tornado and he loses his job. Seth is religious man and one rainy night he climbs to the roof of his New York apartment building in order to ask God whether such series of misfortunes was His will. Something like an answer comes in the form of lightning that would maim Seth's dog. Still unsatisfied with it, Seth decides to tempt God by breaking all ten of biblical Commandments. While he tries to do it, he is living with his sister-in-law Rachael Luce (played by Courtney Cox) whose husband Harry (played by Anthony La Paglia) is a sleazy tabloid reporter not shocked by Seth's decision. Everything changes when Seth starts seeing Rachael as the best way to break "Thou shalt not commit adultery".

Hollywood, because of its commercial considerations, stays away from any stories that explicitly deal with religious issues. Religion can be in the backdrop as a convenient plot device for horror films or dramas that deal with different social values in modern America. Films that deal directly with religion are rare, and even rarer are those that do in the form of black comedy. The beginning of Commandments does that, breaking few more Hollywood taboos along the way - those dealing with pregnant women and domestic pets. Soon it becomes clear that the black comedy could be used as a device for more serious discussions about religious issues - nature or the very existence of God and the tin line that separates devout believers from insane fanatics. Unfortunately, soon Teplitz loses both his courage and his sense of humour and Commandments are directed towards cliches and predictable albeit spectacular ending. The acting in the film varies from good (in the case of Aidan Quinn) and disappointing (in the case of Anthony La Paglia, who shouldn't have been picked as narrator). Choice of Courtney Cox for main female character was also wrong - the whole idea of protagonist as most miserable creature on this planet is hard to accept with someone played by Cox falling into his arms. Yet, despite these flaws Commandments is occasionally very funny film. But between those occasions viewers are too aware that this film has fallen into that all too-familiar limbo between comedy and drama. This concept could have been much better used by authors like Woody Allen or Ingmar Bergman. RATING: 4/10 (+)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on February 10th 2004)