Commandments

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.

Being a young widowed man, I was most anxious to see Commandments. Also, if you have read any of my other film revues, you should know how much I enjoy seeing Courteney Cox's work. However,despite all my efforts, I could not find enough substance within this motion picture to really enjoy it

The plot: a recently widowed man fusses at God due to his recent string of bad luck, ie death of his wife, tornado coming from no where and destroying, only his home, leaving his neighbors untouched, and so on. He then decides to break all the commandments as a way to challenge God to sort of a duel?

The photography was dark and dreary, even on sunny day scenes, giving the film a "life is so drab" undertone. We watch as the main character one by one breaks all of the commandments, which include a tastefully executed love scene with his brothers wife, played by Courteney Cox. As always, Ms.Cox's work was most admirable.

I can tell you first hand what being widowed is like, the pain and frustration are overwhelming. Commandments does not hit any of those marks. It is rather a self indulgent film that through black humor, tries to have us take a look at our own belief's. I won't even mention the ending.I will leave that for you to discover. Hey,you may enjoy this film more than I, but I doubt it.

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)

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.

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.