''The Man Who Sued God'' is a 2001
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
n comedy film starring
Billy Connolly
Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...
and
Judy Davis
Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...
, and directed by
Mark Joffe
Mark Joffe (born 1956) is an Australian film and television director. He has directed feature films, telemovies, and drama series.
Joffe "learned his trade at Crawford Productions", working on ''Carson's Law'', ''Special Squad (1984), Special S ...
. The film was a financial success, debuting at number one at the Australian box office in the week of its launch.
Plot
Advocate Steve Myers (
Billy Connolly
Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...
) is a disillusioned lawyer who becomes fed-up with the perceived corruption within the judicial system. He quits law, buys a small fishing boat and takes up fishing for a living.
Steve's fishing boat is struck by lightning and explodes into pieces, burns and sinks. He informs his insurance company, which reviews and then subsequently declines his claim on the grounds that it is not liable as his fishing boat was destroyed due to an "
act of God
In legal usage in the English-speaking world, an act of God is a natural hazard outside human control, such as an earthquake or tsunami, for which no person can be held responsible. An act of God may amount to an exception to liability in con ...
".
Frustrated that his claim is repeatedly declined, Steve files a claim against God, naming church officials as representatives of God and thereby the respondents. The church leaders, their respective lawyers and their insurance company get together to find a way to settle this dilemma, which catches the fancy of the media.
It is in court that God's representatives will have to admit that the destruction of Steve's fishing boat was actually God's act, accept and compensate him, or deny it altogether thereby denying God's existence, leaving the onus on Steve to prove his claim.
Steve's battle brings media attention leading to a meeting with journalist Anna Redmond (
Judy Davis
Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...
) who helps to raise his public profile, enlisting the support of others who had fallen victim to insurance companies' "acts of God" clause. He also faces heavy criticism and protests from religious groups as his profile grows, and he backs the church into a disadvantageous position.
However, the attention takes its toll on Steve's family, who are exploited by the media, his ex-wife already crippled by debt as the guarantor of the boat. Steve faces a reality check as his family considers moving to Perth, on the other side of the country.
Meanwhile, Anna Redmond comes under fire for a history of disputes and attacks on insurance companies, drawing criticism that the case is little more than a publicity stunt. Facing a drawn out legal battle and the impact it would have on those around him, Steve decides he has won a moral victory, and withdraws from the case but not before convincing the judge that insurance companies' use of the term "acts of God" is a misleading term.
Cast
*
Billy Connolly
Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...
- Steve Myers
*
Judy Davis
Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...
- Anna Redmond
*
Colin Friels
Colin Friels (born 25 September 1952) is a Scottish-born Australian actor of theatre, TV and film and presenter
Early life
Friels was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland.Interview with Colin Friels, ''George Negus Tonight'' (ABC Television) ...
- David Myers
*
Wendy Hughes
Wendy Hughes (29 July 19528 March 2014) was an Australian actress known for her work in theatre, film and television. Her career spanned more than forty years and established her reputation as one of Australia's finest and most prolific actors. ...
- Jules Myers
*
Bille Brown
William Gerald Brown AM (11 January 195213 January 2013) professionally known as Billie Brown was an Australian stage, film and television actor and acclaimed playwright.
Early life
Brown was born in Biloela, Queensland and studied drama at t ...
- Gerry Ryan
*
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
- Edward Piggott
*
Emily Browning
Emily Jane Browning
. Celebritywonder, retrieved 30 June 2011 (born 7 December 1988 - Rebecca Myers
*
Peter Whitford
Peter Whitford (born 1939) is an Australian former radio, theatre, television and film character actor known for numerous roles particularly as wealthy businessmen and members of the aristocracy.
Peter Whitford was born in Adelaide, South Austr ...
- Moderator
Production
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
Pittwater is a semi-mature tide dominated drowned valley estuary, located about north of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia; being one of the bodies of water that separate greater Metropolitan Sydney from the Ce ...
north of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, but later settled on the small village of
Bermagui, New South Wales
Bermagui is a town on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Bega Valley Shire. It lies on the shores of the southern end of Horseshoe Bay. The name is derived from the Dyirringanj word, ''permageua'', possibly meaning "canoe with ...
on the state's
South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area.
Geographical
Australia
*South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney
* South Coast (Q ...
due to the production values it afforded. Bermagui had been suggested by director Mark Joffe as it was his favourite holiday spot.
The fishing boat featured in the film was a charter vessel the 'Tarpin', hired from Bermagui Boat Harbour. Indoor scenes and post-production were located in Sydney.
On 15 February
Bob Carr
Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He later en ...
, then
Premier of New South Wales
The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...
visited the set, presenting a cheque for $50,000 to Gannon Films as a grant to offset the cost of filming in a regional location. The two-week shoot brought an estimated $250,000 to the local economy.
Reception
Commercial
''The Man Who Sued God'' made a debut at number one on its opening weekend with a box office. Within Australia, it earned $8.1 million by the end of that year and ultimately grossed A$8,546,867.
Critical
Review aggregate website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gives the film a rating of 71% based on 7 reviews, with an average score of 5.8/10.
Jamie Russell of
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
to write a remake of the film. However, the remake has yet to be produced.
The producers licensed the right to remake the film in Hindi for release in India. ''
'', based on the original premise of ''The Man Who Sued God'', with an Indian story and a quite different plotline and altered climax, was released in 2012. ''OMG'' was a box office hit in India, and was critically acclaimed.
...