The Man Who Sued God [DVD]

Product Information

As the title suggests, the film tells the story of a man who decides to sue God when his fishing boat is destroyed by lightning and his insurance company refuses to pay, deeming it an 'act of god'. What follows is an at times hilarious and sometimes trite adventure through the Federal Court, in the public eye and amid various other unfolding conflicts.
“I thought it was a great idea, subversive and commercial. It was just something a bit left of centre and unusual, not the typical hokum that is out there. People have found the film unpredictable, which is nice, because if you feel you have to do a certain thing to be unpredictable you don't often end up with the kind of film you want,” says Joffe. Neither Watson nor Bridie contribute much, and Joffe tries to keep them in the listener’s mind by praising either the writing or the music, but this gets tedious after a time. It might have been better for Joffe to do the commentary alone, as he drives most of the discussions and provides most of the observations, and prompts the other two to chip in every so often. I wanted to make a film that was something identifiable for the audience, not some silly farce where they expect to see God at the end. Director Joffe says he asked Bridie to write the aria specifically for the film, but many mistook it for something they’d lifted from a classical composer. The insurance companies and the imprecise language they use are the real targets of the film and they come off very badly at every turn.

Colin Friels plays the role of Billy Connolly’s brother with a Scottish accent, which was an opportunity to reveal his Scottish heritage. “Colin was born in Scotland and his voice just comes across beautifully. It was a powerful resonance with that Scottish brogue,” Joffe says. He's just had his fishing boat blown out of the water by a direct hit from lightening, and it's all covered by insurance. Until the small print comes into play, and the company refuses to pay, saying that the lightning strike was an act of God. There is no other recourse than the Courts, and our man sues God for the loss of his boat and livelihood. Yamato, Jen (29 May 2014). "Larry Charles To Pen, Possibly Direct Comedy Remake 'The Man Who Sued God' ". Deadline . Retrieved 25 July 2022.

The Man Who Sued God

Watson says that the film caricatures the Anglican church, and that it was largely written from a Catholic and Jewish angle (Joffe certifies to the Jewish perspective), but they noted very few complaints from any of the churches about their representation. Watson jokes that these days the churches are happy for any publicity.

Some may claim Billy has himself become an establishment figure, and other reviewers here have been harsh on his failure to "ram home" the assault on the churches. I think we all know Billy's opinion on the Catholic church in which he was raised, but he chooses in this film to leave a little bit there for those who like to still hold on to the mysteries. However, he does lampoon the religious fanatics who consider that they and they alone have a hot-line to God and they are the sole custodians of absolute truth. Rather than turn into emotional pulp, he rises to the occasion with humor, facing the unknown with growing intuition of how this "place" works... how mysterious and fluid life is... and what is required of a person to be a "man" (male or female).Around the 74 minute mark, with Connolly in church, there’s a faintly religious piano driven cue, which Bridie suggests supports the argument for keeping film music quite simple. For the 28’05” headland scene between Davis and Connolly, Bridie says they called the cue “Aphex Twin” because the rhythm layers underneath it sounded a bit like the Sheffield band. He used a piano, accordion, valve mikes and layers of programming underneath to get an organic feel, a technique he used for quite a few of the film’s cues.

Peter shot the film in the wide-screen anamorphic format: “It opens the film up, especially when outside the city, revealing all the countryside on the south coast of New South Wales. It certainly will be a rich looking film with beautiful blue seas providing a startling contrast to the city scenes in court rooms and office towers.” Another significant coup for the filmmakers was signing Peter James, one of Australia’s leading cinematographers who works constantly overseas. Peter had just finished the smash-hit comedy Meet The Parents, with Robert de Niro and Ben Stiller, and a film in Vienna with Bruce Beresford, and had a gap in his schedule before shooting Beresford’s next film. He has had a long collaborative relationship with the Australian Academy Award winning director.Frivolous Lawsuit: The main character is a fisherman whose boat is destroyed by lightning, but he isn't allowed to claim damages from his insurance company because the lightning was "an act of God." So he sues God. (God is represented in court by clergymen.) Outdoor scenes for the film were shot in two weeks during February 2001. Originally producer Ben Gannon had wanted to shoot the scenes around Pittwater north of Sydney, but later settled on the small village of Bermagui, New South Wales on the state's South Coast due to the production values it afforded. Bermagui had been suggested by director Mark Joffe as it was his favourite holiday spot. [1] The fishing boat featured in the film was a charter vessel the ' Tarpin', hired from Bermagui Boat Harbour. [2] Indoor scenes and post-production were located in Sydney. Before Meet The Parents I read 15 scripts and none of them were anywhere as good as THE MAN WHO SUED GOD - and these were Hollywood films already green lit! The moment I read it I could see the potential and when I heard that Billy Connolly and Judy Davis were going to be in it, it was just too good to pass up!” Peter says.

Watson also wore many hats, perhaps most notably as a speech writer for PM Paul Keating, but also as a writer about the use and abuse of the English language. He also was co-writer of the screenplay for the biopic Passion,about virtuoso pianist and composer Percy Grainger. Watson has a detailed wiki here. For the long church men and lawyer scene beginning c. 57’19”, Joffe recalls that they tried a variety of ways of cutting the material, and for a long time, it intercut between the church men and the insurance company people. But eventually they deemed it too confusing, and stayed with the church men, keeping the insurance people for a separate scene. Joffe jokes that there’s the odd line in the film that isn’t too kind to journalists, but ironically, at 17’13” we see a scene shot in the real then Fairfax (later Nine) headquarters in Sydney, publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald and Sun-Herald.

Steve (scoffing, Anna laughing): “Huh! (then talking to his dog resting on the bow) Hey Arthur, how do you like the sound of that? Hanoi?” From an early stage the stars, Billy Connolly and Judy Davis, contributed greatly to the final product. They were both involved in developing their characters and tweaking dialogue. According to Joffe, he and Gannon were single-minded in their pursuit of Connolly once they had latched on to the idea of him. “I thought he was perfect for the part; irreverent, a smart actor. We needed someone that had lived a bit of a life, not a commercially viable 28-year-old. What is gratifying is that a lot of people think the part was written for him.” Judy Davis lends her trademark intensity to her work in a film where nearly everyone seems to gel, even if Wendy Hughes as Jules seems forced in her performance. The ideas are lively if confused and there's a lovely surrealistic touch or two that gives this movie a depth far beyond comedy. You've said that you felt the script was too 'cutesy pie' and 'comfy' the first time you read it. What did you mean? In the pivotal courtroom scene Watson and Joffe give the cardinal the speech of the film. To underline His Eminence’s words about God’s love and the reality of natural evil, they slow down the action and add stirring music under it.