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The Man Who Sued God
Film review and bibliography
Full Cast and Crew for The Man Who Sued God (2001)
Directed by:
Mark Joffe
Writing Credits: (in alphabetical order)
John Clark Original Screenplay
Don Watson Writer
Cast: (in credits order)
Billy Connelly Steve Myers
Judy Davis Anna Redmond
Colin Friels David Myers
Bille Brown Gerry Ryan
Wendy Hughes Jules Myers
Blair Venn Les
Emily Browning Rebecca Myers
Vincent Ball Cardinal
Frank Whitten Primate
Peter Whitford Moderator
Linal Haft Rabbi
John Howard Edward Piggott
Tim Robertson Judge Bonaface
Ritchie Singer Sam Cohen
Steve Jacobs Hal
rest of cast listed alphabetically
Leonid Dobrinsky Russian Guy
Peter Hansen Newspaper Office Security Guard (uncredited)
Produced by:
Irene Dobson line producer
Ben Gannon producer
Mark Joffe producer
Original Music by:
David Bridie
Cinematography by:
Peter James
Film editing by:
Peter Barton
Casting by:
Alison Barret
Production Design by
Luigi Pittorino
Art Direction by:
Juliset John
David Woodland
Costume Design by:
Lisa Meagher
Makeup Department:
Pamela Roth (for Judy Davis)
Production Management:
Julie Sims production manager
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Debbie Antoniou second assistant director
Matthew Harris third assistant director
Toby Pease first assistant director
Art Department:
Leroy Plummer stand-by props
Davis Russel storyboard artist
Sound Department:
Julius Chan supervising sound editor
Liam Egan sound effects editor
Phil Judd sound re-recording mixer
Paul Korber assistant sound editor
Gerry Nucifora boom operator
Ben Osmo sound recordist
Jenny T. Ward sound editor
Visual Effects by:
Charlie Armstrong supervising compositor
Emmanuel Blasset 3D animator
Dan Breckwoldt data I/O operator
David Dulac 3D supervisor
Other Crew:
David Burrows assistant editor
Sophie Dick production coordinator
David Elmes assistant camera
Alicia Gleeson assistant editor
Terry Lamera costume supervisor
Louise McNicholl production assistant
Mick Morris gaffer
David Nichols key grip
Phillip Roope location manager
Kristin Voumard continuity
David Williamson camera operator
Matt Windon second assistant camera
Prior Work of Cast and Crew
Mark Joffe has directed numerous films and television series since 1983. The list includes:
“Carson’s Law” (1093) TV Series
“The Fast Lane” (1985) TV Series
“The Great Bookie Robbery” (1986) (mini) TV series
Watch the Shadows Dance (1986) aka Nightmaster (1986) (USA)
Greivous Bodily Harm (1988) aka Bodily Harm (1988)
Shadow of the Cobra (1989)
More Winners: Boy Soldiers (1990)
Spotswood (1992) aka The Efficiency Expert (1992)
Cosi (1996)
The Matchmaker (1997)
The Man Who Sued God (2001)
Billy Connelly has been a celebrity in the UK for a few decades. He started out as a folk song performer, until the jokes he told between acts took over the show. He became a full-time comedian soon after. Connelly’s filmography includes:
Prince Charming (2001)
Columbo: Murder with Too Many Notes (2000)
Middleton's Changeling
(1998)
Still Crazy (1998)
(list abridged for convenience reasons)
Judy Davis was born in Perth, Western Australia, and has starred in 41 films to date. She trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts. Davis’ filmography includes
Gaudi Afternoon (2001)
Life with Judy Garland:
Me and My Shadows (2001)
Rosamunde Pilcher - Zerrissene Herzen (2000)
(list abridged for convenience reasons)
Shot in
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Bermagui, New South Wales, Australia
Release Dates
Australia – October 25 2001
Production Company
New South Wales Film and TV Association
Australian Box Office:
The Man Who Sued God made over $7.7 million at the Australian Box Office, and made a debut at number one on the week of 21-28 October 2001.
Online Presence
Mainly because of the popularity of Billy Connelly, there was quite a few notifications and reviews of the movie on the internet, mostly in relation to the Scottish actor. Most of the information came in the form of reviews, though there were quite a few filmographies of the actors in the movie where The Man Who Sued God was mentioned. This movie was quite mainstream, and in the forefront of public knowledge. This would explain the relatively large coverage of this movie, when compared to other lesser-known Australian movies.
Interviews with Mark Joffe and Billy Connelly were surprisingly not forthcoming, especially when the popularity of both Joffe and Connelly are put into consideration.
Reviews on the Internet
http://www.popmatters.com/film/reviews/m/man-who-sued-god.html
http://www.dvd.net.au/goto.cgi?http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=1475
http://www.echonews.com/744/movie_reviews.html
http://nofreelist.com/review.asp?movieid=237
http://www.cinephilia.net.au/show_detailed_review.php?movieid=811
http://members.fortunecity.com/roogulator/fantasy/manwhosuedgod.htm
Interviews
Interview with Judy Davis:
Interview with Mark Joffe:
http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=5392&s=Interviews
Unfortunately, the interview with Mark Joffe requires membership to the Urban Cinefile online magazine, and was the only interview of the director which I could find on the internet.
Information Searching
The internet was heavily used when searching for information on The Man Who Sued God. Most of the information regarding actor/director information, and cast/crew listings were found on the Internet Movie Database. Interviews and reviews were found using a general search engine. Box office figures were found using the Australian movie guide.
The Man Who Sued God on the IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0268437
Plot Synopsis
The Man Who Sued God is a comedy which interlinks insurance corporations, organised religion and the media, and is a criticism of these three aspects in contemporary society. It challenges fundamental beliefs, addressing the question of whether God exists, while at the same time describing the story of how an ordinary fisherman becomes a huge public figure in a media-circus court case.
Steve Myers is an ex-lawyer who spends his time fishing in his one piece of property: a rusty fishing boat which, despite it’s unglamorous appearance, is a place in which Myers is truly happy. During a stormy afternoon, his boat is struck by lightning and wrecked beyond repair. Myers himself escapes serious harm, but is hit by shrapnel. Adding insult to injury is the insurance company’s refusal to pay money for the boat’s loss, deeming the incident an ‘act of God’. Myers finds this unacceptable, and re-registers himself as a lawyer to begin an extraordinary court case. Knowing that if he sued the insurance giant he will surely lose, he decides instead to sue the ‘person’ responsible for his boat’s loss: God. As God’s earthly representatives, the Church becomes the target of this court case and the payment will have to come from their coffers if they lose. This is an unacceptable outcome, for if they lose there will be far-reaching consequences and massive repayments from others who have lost out in similar situations.
Myers meets up with the well-known journalist Anna Redmond, a writer who has become dissatisfied with the current state of the media and sees Myers’ situation as “a great story”. She coaches Myers in the ways of public relations, and attempts to bring the media to his side. Steve Myers rapidly manages to expand into a huge public figure, with support from those who have also been hit by the insurance company’s claim of ‘acts of God’, but is also criticised and protested against by religious groups. Myers begins to enjoy a string of successful court appearances as he manages to manoeuvre the insurance company and the Church into a disadvantageous position.
“The churches can only win the case if they prove God does NOT exist…”
While Myers is enjoying his success, the rest of his family suffers as a result of the media attention. Myers’ 12-year-old daughter Rebecca and his ex-wife Jules become targets of media exploitation, and since Jules and her partner were the guarantors of Myers’ boat, they lose money. They are forced to consider moving to Perth, where they will start anew. This is one of the main tragedies in the film, and imposes a reality check on Steve Myers, who is forced to rethink his status as a public icon.
Anna Redmond’s past is exposed in the court, where she has had a history of complaints with insurance companies. Her “obsession” with insurance claims brings her character into question, as the Church and the insurance corporation try to uncover the court case as both a farce and a publicity stunt. This setback forces Myers to rethink his strategy in the court case, and he has to consider the implications of staying with the case for several years. In the end, he opts for a moral victory by withdrawing from the court case while at the same time convincing the judge that the use of the term “Act of God” by insurance companies is wrong and misleading.
Critical Review
Many of the reviews which I found seemed to be one of two types: those written by fans of Billy Connelly, and those who thought that he shouldn’t have been cast. The latter type of reviews feel that the movie had promise if its themes were taken a lot more seriously, and if it wasn’t a comedy. Personally, I agree with those who feel that the movie had promise, and didn’t deliver in the end. Though there were a few good moments in the film, I felt that Joffe had not given the issues presented enough serious thought, and the inclusion of Connelly turned the movie from a serious thought-provoking film into a laugh-a-minute comedy. Billy Connelly is a brilliant comedian and actor, but I don’t think he should have been cast as the protagonist.
There were some good acting performances in the movie, however. Familiar faces Colin Friels (Angel Baby, Dark City) and Wendy Hughes (My First Wife) are good as Myers’ brother and ex-wife respectively. Judy Davis is pretty decent as the jaded journalist Anna, but her acting talent seems to be somewhat wasted. Most of her humour was slapstick. Despite this, it is a good change from her normal styles of acting, and broadens her horizons as an actor.
Within the Australian National Cinema milieu
The Man Who Sues God does not have the geographical ambiguity that some other Australian films have. Though the protagonist of the movie is unquestionably Scottish/Irish, the location of the movie is never in doubt: New South Wales, Australia. The film does not deviate much from Hollywood formulae, though it is a mundane film with some extraordinary features. The storyline about the court case is "mundane cinema" (O’Regan 1996, p.127), as is the romance between Redmond and Myers, but the way in which the case brings the community together in such a fashion, and the way the film challenges such fundamental beliefs such as the belief in god makes it different from mundane Hollywood movies. The film offers some quirkiness in the form of Myers, a hairy, foul-mouthed but humanised character giving an “flourish” to the movie, and the storyline itself is unexpected, the unprecedented legal case of Myers vs. God coming as a novelty to the viewers. However, it is not ‘distinctively’ Australian in its direction and style.
The film has drawn comparisons to the Rob Sitch movie, The Castle, in that an everyday man (Myers) battles and wins against a corporate giant (his insurance company). Man is perhaps not quite as mundane as Castle, and may be a little more international in its horizons with the inclusion of Connelly as well as Friels’ convincing Scottish accent.
A Medium-sized English Language Cinema:
Man’s place in the Australian National Cinema setting is that it is an Australian film at face value, but does not show any stylistic features as described by O’Reagan, depicting the ‘distinctiveness’ of Australian cinema. This film goes against the notion of Australian cinema challenging and standing out from Hollywood films, mainly due to the devaluation of Australian culture to make it more accessible to international audiences. This contrasts with other Australian films that are Australian in their conception but ambiguous in their location, by having the location obviously set in Australia, with a Hollywood-style presentation.
References:
Australian Film Commission website. http://www.afc.org.au
Internet Movie Database. http://imdb.com
O'Regan, T. 1996, Australian National Cinema, Routledge, London.
Gillard, G. 2002, ‘Quirkiness in Australian cinema’, Australian Screen Education