Tommy (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #47

Tommy! A baby born like any other. Nobody suspected his destiny. He was to become the Messiah of a new religion. His religion would spread all over the world, only to implode and collapse like a house of cards.

I've written a lot about this film in my last four reviews. You can find them in my alphabetical list of posts. It's difficult to write something new, but I would like to pose a question. In my past reviews I said that Tommy was the Messiah, but his religion failed because of the greed of the ones who appointed themselves leaders. Was I wrong in calling Tommy the Messiah? Was he a false Messiah all along, meaning his religion would have failed whatever happened?

The first person that Tommy baptised was his mother. The subsequent events show that she was unworthy of becoming his follower. If he'd been a true Messiah he would have known. I'm not saying that Tommy was false as a person. After finding enlightenment he wanted to do good and help people. There was no shred of hypocrisy in him. He was a good, honest person. What I'm asking is, was his goodness enough to entitle him to be a leader?

I don't know the answer to that question. It's something I'd like to discuss with others who know and love this film. I don't want to discuss the Who's rock opera called "Tommy". I want to discuss the film, because the original album and the film obviously have different meanings. "Tommy" the film isn't an adaptation of the rock opera; it's a film written by Ken Russell that uses the Who's music to tell the story.

The question of false religion is asked throughout the second half of the film, but it also crops up in the first half as Tommy becomes an adult. His mother takes him to the Church of Marilyn to be healed.

Those who kiss the naked toes of the Marilyn Monroe statue are healed of whatever ails them. But not Tommy. Tommy can't find salvation in the arms (or the feet) of a false church.

It's possible that Tommy was a real Messiah, in the context of the film, but the power that he found in his new church corrupted him. I don't mean wealth. He rejected the riches that his church leaders craved. His mistake was that he deprived his followers of his teaching. He covered their eyes and ears to stop them listening to him. His followers were promised salvation merely by becoming members of his church. This reminds me of the Catholic Church keeping the Bible in Latin for centuries, preventing the common people from being able to read it.

In the end Tommy finds peace by himself. He becomes one with nature. Is that a hint of Buddhism in a film that otherwise parallels the development of Christianity?

It's possible that I'm reading my own interpretation into the film. As I said above, I'd like to discuss the film with others, preferably with people who take religion seriously. I don't necessarily mean believers. It can also be people who don't follow an organised religion, as long as they don't mock others who believe. Maybe people like that can point out things I've missed in the film.

Success Rate:  + 4.9

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