The Man Who Sued God [DVD]

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This film needed to be precise and worldly - it is filled with worldly ideas that involve a humanistic approach to life, but it also is hugely entertaining!” An old friend of Joffe's, Davis had expressed interest in the script in the early '90s. “Although she varied her performance, Judy got in to her character very easily. In fact both of them were on top of their form from the beginning.” The scene with Davis in the box was a long scene with important new information, and Joffe recalls it took them two days to shoot it. They decided to concentrate on Davis, on the basis that there was always something going on in her performance, and if they followed her, viewers would believe everything. For Billy Connolly, any excuse to come to Australia - his second home since his marriage to expatriate Australian Pamela Stephenson - is enough. But he also was thrilled by the quality of the script and the chance to work with Judy Davis, an actor he was long admired.

Steve Jacobs as Hal: Jacobs has a short wiki here, and will be remembered as the director of La Spagnola. Billy seems to spend an awful lot of time mooning around churches and the 'divine intervention' bit is embarassingly bad and entirely unnecessary. Quite frankly, whoever came up with this scene should be shot! For those who missed the many shots of a “7” in the coverage, Joffe notes that the TV sequence was shot inside and out of the channel 7 studios in Sydney. (Seven newsreaders are also featured in the film). minutes in, Joffe notes that Judy Davis being called as a witness isn’t done in a strictly legal way. In the usual way, Davis’s character would have been outside the court, and the opposition lawyer would have been informed of who the witnesses were (rather than Billy Connolly looking startled). Rather than spend three weeks explaining that, Joffe went with the dramatic flow. “Cinematic licence,” he claims. After working with various writers over the years, Joffe teamed up with producer Ben Gannon in the early '90s and ultimately sought out the collaboration of writer Don Watson. “We had worked with many different writers, all good ones, but all having very different takes on the concept. It wasn't until Don put it together with us that we felt it might finally get done,” says Joffe.As a filmmaker that’s very appealing because you’re always trying to find material that is going to reach the widest possible audience.” The film was very close to not being made, really close to not being made. We decided that it had to be made for a certain budget otherwise it wasn't going to be what we wanted it to be and you can only compromise so much. But somehow we got it together through the generosity of a lot of people whose effort and money will hopefully be repaid.” Bridie says they were trying to get a sad Mozartian feel to the aria, with singer Miriam Clark from Newcastle doing the singing (though again ironically in the credits, she’s listed as Miriam Allan). 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.

Joffe says that the opening sequence was shot over a few days - overall the unit spent a couple of weeks on location on the south coast, trying to fit quite a lot of filming in. Because of technical requirements and the weather, they shot with two cameras (as they did elsewhere in the film). 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. Mark Joffe had known Judy Davis and her husband Colin Friels for years, having worked several times previously with Colin. He showed the script to Judy early in development and she was always keen to be involved. It's modest fare, but there's something rather sweet about the cranky relationship between Connolly and Judy Davis (as the journalist who decides to help him with his quest), which is well served by director Mark Joffe's willingness to take the little man versus the system theme with a huge pinch of salt.When the dog was thrown into the water, off the jetty, he didn’t know what was going to happen, and it was done in one take. That sort of loss befell our man, played with insight, verve and delicacy by Billy Connolly, in 'The Man Who Sued God'. What's important about this movie is that it's not about Billy Connolly, it's not him mugging for the camera and pulling stunts. It's a drama about a man in a tough situation, with romantic and comedic elements included. It's well written, played with truth and energy by the entire cast, and shot vividly, both for the exterior scenes of 'beautiful OZ', and the interiors, where so much of the action takes place. Just after the 44 minute mark, when Bille Brown’s lawyer is offering a settlement, Joffe notes as a piece of trivia that they had all the suits made for the lawyers by tailors in the line of work of making lawyers their suits, with the result crisp and exactly what lawyers would wear. The settlement offer scene was shot on the second day of filming. Some might find The Man Who Sued God audacious, perhaps sacrilegious, certainly rebellious. Most will find it very funny. Billy Connolly stars as Steve Myers, bringing humour as well as the kind of depth and realness to his character with which he touched audiences around the world in Mrs Brown. Judy Davis is Anna Redmond, a well known but jaded media personality who inspires Steve to teach the insurance companies a lesson.

In any case, Clarke had many other ways to keep the wolf from the door, as shown by his detailed wiki here. The domestic special edition DVD release had good sound and image, and for once for an Australian film, subtitles for the hearing impaired. The film is also available in certain territories on streaming services. Newscaster Cameo: Chris Bath (one of the better-known Seven Network News Journalists) appears as a newsreader. According to Joffe, the court interiors were shot in Concord in Western Sydney, at Rivendell, a home for troubled youth. (wiki here).

Mark Joffe enthuses about his Director of Photography: “Peter came to the project brimming with good ideas. He was a huge asset to the production - so precise, such a hard worker, and so brilliant. We couldn’t have gotten anywhere near finishing the tough schedule without him … and his fantastic camera team.”