I think I can answer most of your questions, or at least try and apply some logic to them.
I believe "1921" was changed to "1951" so they could update the timeline. I don't think it's ever made clear how much time passes throughout the course of the film, but it's clear that Tommy is meant to have aged considerably. Perhaps they wanted the movie's appearance and mood to reflect the actual time of the '70s (hairstyles, clothing, etc.), so the date was bumped up to '51 to bring it closer to that time period. Whereas in 1921 Captain Walker would be returning home from WWI, he'd now be returning in 1951 from WWII. Judging by the boy's appearance, I'm going to guess he's around 6 or 7 (the album's version of "Amazing Journey" contains the lyrics "Ten years old/With thoughts as bold/As thoughts can be," but the lyrics have changed in the film, and frankly, the boy looks much younger than ten). If we add 20 years to the equation, that would make Tommy around 26 or 27 by the film's end (I seem to recall reading an interview with Ann-Margret in which she says the character's age 20 years, so let's just assume this is correct). The only reason I can come up with then is that it was changed to reflect the '70s since that was when the movie was made.
The Marilyn Monroe thing was, admittedly, a bit strange. I'm only speculating here, but I'm guessing that, based on the context of the lyrics ("You talk about your woman," "She's got the power to heal you," etc.), they wanted to choose an iconic woman that's easily identifiable as well as world famous and therefore it's probable that she would spawn a "cult" or "sect" or what have you that would worship her. As Nora and Frank are trying to "heal" Tommy in this stage of the movie, it's clear that they are becoming desperate if they believe, as the lyrics suggest, that "she" (Marilyn, in this case) can take away Tommy's afflictions.
I don't know why they had the Lover (Frank) kill Captain Walker in the film, but I'm thinking it's because they wanted the authoritative male in Tommy's life to be an enigmatic figure, not entirely evil, but a bit unscrupulous. By having Captain Walker killed, it seems even more tragic because, as far as we know, he was a good man. Frank--though I think it's obvious he does care for Tommy--is greedy and incorrigible at times, and I think they wanted to avoid that with the Father. I think they wanted the image of Captain Walker to be as a Tragic Hero as, ultimately, that's what Tommy becomes himself.
"Bernie's Holiday Camp," obviously was written for the film, as were other songs, such as "Champagne," "Mother and Son," and "T.V. Studio." The reason is because the plotline of "Tommy" the album is a little hard to follow at certain times, so Townshend wrote other songs to kind of bridge them together (songwise and scenewise) for the movie. It makes the flow a little bit smoother. In addition to this, the "Bernie's Holiday Camp" segment provides another purpose: this is obviously what inspired Tommy to start his own holiday camp at the end of the movie (you can hear the boy sing at one point int he song, "and when I'm big I'll have a holiday camp").
In regards to Sally Simpson, I'm not positive, but I don't believe her age is ever mentioned in the lyrics (in either the album nor the film). Personally, I always imagined her to be around 14 or 15 or so, the so-called "rebellious years," and her behavior in the song seems to support this. I know they mention her getting married and such, but I always saw that particular verse of the song as looking ahead to the future, while Sally is married. It's years from now, but she still thinks back to that day ("still carries the scar on her cheek"). I always saw the song as flashing forward at this point, giving us a glimpse of her future. I will admit that the actress certainly looks younger than 14 or 15, but all I can do is guess on this subject, and I'm guessing she was cast because she's Ken Russell's daughter and her age was close enough to what Townshend had in mind when he wrote the song.
And actually, "We're Not Gonna Take It" was depicted correctly in the film (though the murdering of the parents was probably added for effect). The song is about Tommy's followers revolting against him and his ways because they feel like they've been duped ("Don't want no religion," "We forake you/Gonna rape you/Let's forget you better still"). The "See Me/Feel Me" part then seems to suggest him regressing back to his deaf, dumb, and blind state, while "Listening To You" would imply that he rejects it and is prepared to start over with a new life. People tend to argue over this, but I don't think the "real ending" has ever been made known.
Anyway, most of this is speculation, but I hope it helps.
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laineybear1979
18 years ago
I just saw TOMMY for the first time this past weekend--it was really my first experience of the movie and the music. One of the things that I found particularly interesting in terms of symbolism (or message, or whatever you'd like to call it :) ) is that whole Marilyn Monroe sequence, in the fact that it's not merely representing any old cult that his mother takes him to. The entire scene, in each detail, is a parody of the Catholic Mass--and ultimately, I think, a critique of organized religion as something that promises miracles and salvation (Tommy's mother takes him there to be cured), but Tommy knocks over the statue (notice how the congregation goes up to kiss the statue's feet? This happens during, I believe, the Holy Thursday services around Easter--I was raised Catholic, but it's been a while), suggesting the ultimate breakable facade of organized religion as something that relies on its followers to believe without question in order to control them. At the end, Tommy (perhaps along with his followers) realizes that salvation isn't found in a magical pinball machine, or in following a messiah to make you whole, or even in the almighty dollar. At the end, Tommy is alone with his own existence, which is the true enlightenment.
I'd also like to add that this is just an interpretation of the visuals, since I am not, as many of you are on here, as familiar with all of the lyrics or the original concept album.
But I enjoyed this quite a bit, especially the more I think about it after the fact. There's a lot of GREAT dark humor and satirical treatment of popular culture, capitalism, and religion. I've been an enormous fan of THE WALL for years, so I was glad to experience another rock opera from a similar era and learn something new. There are a lot of shared themes between the two which could be interesting to explore.
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