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Commandments (1997) More at IMDbPro »

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Disappointing., 24 June 2003

Author: gridoon

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. (**)

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Jonas in Montauk, 26 February 2006

Author: jotix100 from New York

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.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
very black, dramatic comedy, 29 March 1999

Author: helpless_dancer from Broken Bow, Oklahoma

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.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Interesting, dark work, 20 January 1999
Author: Matt Stallworth from Atlanta

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.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Undertones of the Movie, 6 October 1998

Author: dawiz from Elgin, IL

This movie generates serveral undertones and brings several questions to surface. Main plot of defying God's commandments being carried out in a general way still shows that he is a forgiving God in the way he allows him to get a fresh start again.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Whale of a tale, 6 January 2006

Author: janet-55 from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

My curiosity was roused from the instant I heard the voice over. It was undeniably the voice of Anthony LaPaglia... I'm forced not to say more for fear of spoiling the film. The story involves Seth (Aidan Quinn) attempting to break the ten commandments in order to spite God as everything in his life that could go wrong has gone wrong. He even loses his job and home so winds up with his dog (who has a broken leg) lodging with his dead wife's sister Rachel(well played by Courteney Cox). Her husband Harry (played by the aforesaid Mr LaPaglia) is a thorough scum bucket - a role he conveys with evident enthusiasm and thus as such lends the film most of its humour. It turns out that he has had an affair with Seth's dead wife i.e. his sister-in-law. Meanwhile Rachel and Seth have an affair, so it seems no-one is innocent of breaking commandments in this film...The film follows through to an unexpected climax. If you dislike black comedy, or the odd swipe at religion then this is not the film for you. Otherwise this is a witty and entertainingly bizarre film, well shot, well acted and beautiful to look at. By the way look out for Harry's great collection of electric guitars; however I suspect that Mr Lapaglia is not conversant with the instrument. Oh well, you can't have everything!!!

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Although Being One of the Weirdest Movies I Ever Seen, It Is Also an Enjoyable and Intriguing Black Humor Film With an Outstanding Cast, 9 January 2004

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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)

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The story has it all - death, sex, and God., 8 December 2007

Author: lastliberal from Florida

One thing I can say for Courteney Cox, she really got hotter with Kurt Russel in 3000 Miles to Graceland than she did with Aidan Quinn here. Not that she wasn't hot, but Kurt got the better deal.

This was a quirky black comedy about a man who lost his reason for living and decided to damn god and break all his commandments. Well, damning god is breaking one of them. Hooking up with his sister-in-law was just one of the ten, but what kept you interested was how he was going to break the "Thou Shalt Not Kill" one.

Good support by Anthony LaPaglia as Courtney's husband, Harry. "I break 5 or 6 commandments every day before lunch." Not a good man, but, you know how that karma thing works. It all ended well.

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Doesn't Anyone Read the Bible Anymore?, 13 May 2007

Author: phaeberlen-1 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Buy this movie and put it in your library. If you do not like it when viewing it for the first time, you will.

This film may not make sense if you do not have at least some knowledge of the Hebrew Bible. The theme is a retelling ("midrashically speaking") of the Book of Job. Hence, it is about dealing with innocent suffering, the classic theodicy problem. All of us can identify with Quinn's character. When bad things happen to "good" people, it must be God's fault. How better to describe his despair than the comment that his shoelaces have broken every day for a year! In his mind, only God could arrange such misfortune, and he is probably right about that! Like the Book of Job, the theme turns on itself in the end. The "belly of the whale" scene copied from Joshua is pretty transparent but delicious in a way.

Quinn's solution to his dilemma is pretty creative. I can only hope that his character does not start a trend of copycats.

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Thou Shalt Not Watch, 16 February 2007
Author: DrPhilmreview from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I can understand why Aiden Quinn agreed to do this film. As bad as it is, at least he gets to get busy with Courteney Cox's character Rachel in a pretty smoking sex scene. But why would any of the rest of this talented cast do this? Quinn stars as a man who's life is shattered when his wife disappears in the ocean. He tries to get past it, then denounces God and decides to break all of the ten commandments to show his disdain.

Anthony LaPaglia is good as Quinn's loud brother in law and Rachel's husband, but they're all trapped in a movie best watched while waiting on death row somewhere. After watching about fifteen minutes of this, I think it'd make it much easier to walk into the gas chamber. In fact, almost anxious.

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