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List Price: $9.99 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 75980
Released: November 23, 2004 |
| Our Price: $5.08 |
| Used Price: $4.84 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 23-NOV-2004
Media Type: DVD
Description of Commandments:
Aidan Quinn plays a man so aggrieved by his misfortunes that he vows to break each of God's Ten Commandments in revenge. But even that act of profound defiance doesn't quite work out the way he planned, and the character undergoes a mythic--some would say biblical--experience of a different kind. Quinn is fine, as is Anthony LaPaglia as his friend and Courteney Cox as a love interest. But the heavily stylized film by Daniel Taplitz makes puffery of the drama, and the atmosphere is more silly than smart. --Tom Keogh
Commandments Reviews:
Unique and darkly funny 
2007-05-01 - This is a unique, imaginative movie about a Job-like character who sets out to break the 10 C's as revenge against God. But I think people of any religious persuasion (or none) can enjoy it. If you can appreciate a dark comedy, you'll love this movie.
Interesting and Overlooked 
2006-12-08 - After a string of otherwise-inexplicable disasters (the loss of his wife, his job, and his house), Seth becomes convinced that, for some reason, God is out to get him. Since prayer doesn't help him--on the contrary--Seth decides to break every one of the Ten Commandments. That puts him on a strange path, where he reencounters his sister-in-law, who's stuck in a miserable marriage; and literally faces death. The end is strange, unexpected and quite beautiful.
finally on dvd!
2004-11-21 - I have been waiting for this movie to be released on dvd for years! Sad but not depressing -- and the ending is pitch-perfect.
this is an ancient story. . .
2002-08-01 - This is a retelling of the Job story from the Old Testament. And the genius of the film is that (even though the movie includes another biblical story to wind up Seth's story) it ends much like the book of Job; there is no answer to why all these things happen to humans, but still there is the overwhelming sense that you just have to know more about this God. I'm sure this film doesn't sit well with conservative Jews or Christians--too much sex. That's okay--not much sits well with conservative viewers. It is a nice counterpoint to the notion on our culture that if you love God, nothing bad will ever happen to you. Here, Seth perseveres in this relationship even though he is terribly angry with God.
Unusual and interesting 
2002-03-03 - Seth (Aidan Quinn) is in a bad way. His pregnant wife drowned a year ago, his house has been demolished in a tornado, and he's lost his job. "Why, God?" he asks. God responds with a carefully aimed lightning bolt which not only hits Seth, but also manages to maim his pet dog.
Homeless and jobless, Seth goes to stay with his late wife's sister, Rachel (Courteney Cox) and her no-good husband, Harry (Anthony LaPaglia). And Harry's collection of priceless guitars. We know that Harry is no good because the first time we see him, he's cheating on Rachel with gusto. Seth is lost and confused - why has God chosen to punish him, a good, loyal, hard-working religious man, rather than someone like, say, Harry? Not only is he confused, he's getting pretty angry. So he makes up his mind to break each of the Ten Commandments, one by one.
"Commandments" raises some interesting questions - very few of which it actually manages to answer. Most of the time, it doesn't even make an attempt at this. Rather than trying to figure out exactly *why* God is punishing Seth, it turns into a comedy as Seth wife-covets, ignores the Sabbath and blasphemes his way across the screen. More interesting than Seth is Harry, who is nasty in a refreshingly human way, while Courteney Cox as Rachel is lovely, but more than a little distant.
The characters and their dilemmas are somewhat inaccessible; we end up not caring about them as much as we should, I guess. A lot of the scenes seem illogical, and the cold blue sets do their part in cutting off the audience. However it's a lot more quirky and off-beat than most of the comedies in circulation at the moment. Keep an eye out for it.
