Unreal(ised)
The Man Who Sued God is being advertised to the
Australian public as a comedy. This seems easy enough
to believe, since the film stars Billy Connolly, one
of the world's funniest men. However, The Man Who
Sued God, despite good intentions, the film, quite
simply, is boringly predictable, poorly written and amateurishly directed. Connolly's appearance overshadows the film's serious subject matter: a man who puts the Lord on trial and subsequently challenges the authority and rituals of the Church and its many factions.
Connolly plays Steve Myers, a former lawyer turned
full-time fisherman whose boat is destroyed by
lightning. His insurers are refusing to pay for the
damage citing the loss as an Act of God. Steve's
ex-wife Jules's (Wendy Hughes) new husband (Blair
Venn) had been guarantor on the boat and as a result
of the loss, is out over $150,000 and stands to lose
his caravan park. Steve decides that if an Act of God
destroyed his boat, then God should be held
responsible. He soon finds himself headlining the
"trial of the century," battling both his insurance
company and a variety of Holy representatives (a
priest, a cardinal, a rabbi) in court. Put simply,
Steve needs to convince the court that God either does
not exist, or if He does, that he (or the combined
Church heads, as his representatives) should pay up,
as He would be responsible for these "acts" which have
cost not only Steve, but also many others, their
hard-earned savings.
While the idea is an intriguing one, writer John
Clarke and director Mark Joffe rely far too much on
boring external situations, including a romance
between Steve and his hired help, journalist Anna
(Judy Davis), and her ridiculously convoluted reasons
for assisting Steve with his case. The fast-paced
dialogue evident in the courtroom grinds to a halt
anywhere outside of it, used only to develop
stereotypical characters in obvious situations. These
include the possibility of Jules picking up and moving
with her husband and Steve's daughter to Perth (why do
down-on-their-luck Aussie always have to move either
to Perth or the Gold Coast to make a fresh start?),
and the tension between Steve and his lawyer brother,
David (Colin Friels, with a dead-on Scottish accent).
Clarke and Joffe also make sure the audience is on
Steve's side from the outset. They have structured
their story to portray the insurance company bigwigs
as greedy shysters (led by one Mr Piggott [John
Howard]), and a bunch of buffoonish clergymen as the
opposition, leaving little room to wonder as to who is
right and who is wrong. What's worse, this leaves the
"does He or doesn't He exist?" debate more one-sided
than it could have been. The idea of a man suing the
Church and his insurance company simultaneously -- one
may say God and the Devil -- is in itself fascinating,
and needn't have been set against such a foolish
background.
Adding to the silliness is Clarke and Joffe's reliance
on an annoyingly tedious formal structure (using
montage after montage to move their story along) and a
deafening mood-directing soundtrack that rarely lets
up (during funny scenes, the soundtrack is jovial and
upbeat, but when things look grim, we hear either
choirs dramatically singing or just that
ping-ping-pong of a sullen piano).
Equally unsubtle is the visual comparison between a
church's interior, with a crucifix overseeing all, and
the courtroom, with a bearded judge seated up front
doing the same. Stained-glass windows featuring the
words "faith," "hope," and "charity" introduce each
new act, and we are repeatedly shown the overwhelming
wealth of the different churches (Steve is at one
point seen marveling at the architecture inside a
synagogue), for no other reason than to make sure we
stay on Steve's side through to the end.
And yet this premise also allows the aspect that makes
the film different (and maybe a little daring): when
all is said and done, the Church and its "employees"
(including the always wondrous Vincent Ball as the
Cardinal) are hardly ever shown in a good light. They
are often seen, in fact, to be just as devious as the
lawyers and Steve's insurance company.
Still, Steve eventually comes to the realisation that
God had nothing to do with what happened to his boat.
And so, he reinforces to the crowded courtroom that
faith is what one makes of it, individually and
without unnecessary persuasion. His conclusion follows
dopey attempts by his opposition to argue with him,
making them look like rookies with no idea how to
argue such a large case, which could see a legal
precedent set, one that might, say, allow God into the
legal system.
