Allelujah

My Review- Allelujah (2022) In Cinemas now My Rating. 9/10 Alan Bennett is one of the most respected playwrights and social observers in Britain today and Allelujah is his bittersweet observation of the decline of geriatric care in Britains National Health Scheme due to underfunding and so called economic rationalisation . It's also a tribute to the dedicated health professionals that work incredibly long hours with little reward except the satisfaction that they chose to care for the elderly. It's a confronting movie in a way if you're over 70 years old as we are however hopefully the improvements to elderly care promised by our current government in Australia will be forthcoming if and when we require them. Based on Alan Bennett's 2018 play of the same name Allelujah the movie is also set in a geriatric ward of a Yorkshire hospital called Bethlehem or affection known as The Beth that is trying to stall or stop the threat of its impending closure by career politicians who see only British pounds instead of service and care to the local community. The story is told through the eyes of Dr Valentine beautifully played by actor Bally Gill a young dedicated health professional with a special talent for empathy and caring for his elderly clients . The Beth is run by the efficient and experienced Sister Gilpin played by Jennifer Saunders in a rare dramatic role and she certainly is impressive in this role. The star studded cast of Allelujah features a who's who of British acting aristocracy that only a work by Alan Bennett could attract . They include as well as Jennifer Saunders, Derek Jacobi as Ambrose a sharp witted retired English teacher , Judi Dench as Mary Moss a quietly spoken almost ethereal ex Librarian who's talent for observation are underrated. Julia McKenzie's role is moving but brief as a patient with dementia and veteran actor David Bradley as Joe Coleman an ex mine worker and father to Colin played by Russell Tovey both are outstanding in their roles. Russell Tovey 's role as Colin ,Joe's son and the management consultant assigned to close The Beth is impressive and moving . His visits to Joe while he is a patient at The Beth begin to thaw out the rejection that he's experienced from his father regarding his sexuality. Jennifer Saunders as Sister Gilpin who is constantly pressured by all the local Age Care facilities for spare beds is a fascinating and complex character no spoilers of course but the conclusion of Allelujah completely took me by surprise. I've always been an Alan Bennett fan and as usual he manages to inject humour even into the most serious subjects . There's plenty of witty dialogue from the residents of The Beth and music and laughter . While it portrays a serious subject I found Allelujah uplifting and a tribute to the dedicated people who we call health professionals. Unlike the play the movie is more current and was shot while Covid-19 measures were still in force in the UK and depicts those dire conditions. Heidi Thomas the very talented screenplay writer of Crawford and creator of Call the Midwife I think has adapted Alan Bennett's play so well and done it justice. The Director Richard Eyre who directed Iris and Notes on a Scandal has also done a superb job he must have delighted in this fine cast. Alan Bennett is now 88 years old himself so obviously must have a great awareness of the issues portrayed in Allelujah this shows in the understanding of his characters. It's refreshing to see issues and characters so effectively portrayed on screen where most of the cast is chronologically challenged but still in their prime.

As is often the case - I simply dont understand the low-scores by Imdb contributors. A score starting with a 5 on here is completely unjustified. This is - perhaps at first sight - a boring film full of old doddery figures. There are no car chases - no screeching of wheels - no guns in fact or any raised voices threatening anyone with anything. Perhaps whats whats "wrong" here. Instead there are many threads of peoples varied lives all ending up (as most readers of this will - if they are lucky) in their twilight years under the care of The NHS - their for our first breath and our last. There is a completely unexpected plot twist near the ending - makes one think "Is this based on a true story" and then you remember the genius of the Writer Alan Bennetts fiction over decades here in the UK. Its brilliant. Have some curiosity and give it a go.

This is a bleak drama, intermittently comic, set in the geriatric ward of an old hospital in Yorkshire which looks and feels like the one where I had my appendix removed in the 1950s. Jennifer Saunders is the ward sister, efficiently and briskly coping with everything from assisted showers to incontinence and patient deaths. Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi are among the patients, but the focus is mostly on Joe (David Bradley), a frail old gent hoping to be sent home, and his nerdy son Colin (Russell Tovey, the go-to actor for gay roles), who is on the team planning a new hospital. The Alan Bennett pedigree guarantees brilliant writing and all the cast do eminent justice to the script, but the tone of the movie is unremittingly glum, largely focused on death and dementia, and the dimly lit hospital adds more gloom. The ending is a bit rushed and not entirely in tune with what's gone before. This is a dark comedy that is perhaps a bit too dark. Our Mr. Bennett has not lost his touch, but the humor in ALLELUJAH is over-laced with bile and bitterness.

Allelujah(480P)

When the geriatric ward in a small Yorkshire hospital is threatened with closure, it fights back by galvanizing the local community. The hospital invites a news crew to film the preparations for a concert honouring its most distinguished nurse...... Allelujah is not the kind of film that the trailer tells you that it is. The trailer wants you to believe that this is aimed at the grey pound, and that it is a light hearted look at the NHS pre-Covid, with a cast of eclectic characters that will warm your soul until the feel good ending. How further from the truth can a trailer be? This has to be the red herring of all trailers. If the film wasn't spoiled for me by a group of people talking about the previous screening, this would be as surprising as The Sixth Sense or Se7en. The third act of this film is that bat s*** crazy, it actually defies belief. But other than that really out of the blue third act, this film is a charming, if two faced tribute to the NHS. On one hand, it shows that even on its last legs, much like the majority of the characters, the national health still has legs, still has a voice, and is screaming to be heard by the ignorant (portrayed in this) bureaucrats who sit in their ivory towers spitting out orders, and not hearing the Everyman. But then again, it could portray the NHS as slowly killing itself from the inside, becoming too set in its ways, and not recognising change, even though it's inevitable. The cast are wonderful, Saunders giving a standout performance as the sister of the under fire Beth ward, and is ably supported by a brilliant cast such as Jacobi, Tovey, and that woman who used to be in Fresh Fields. The only character who seemed out of place was Dench, who only seems to be in it as she plays a very small part in the outcome of the third act. So all in all, it's a far different film than you would expect, and it's a love it or hate it third act of the film, it forgets the first two acts, and goes straight for the gut.

source: Allelujah

I'd say this film may have had more impact closer to the pandemic but it was somewhat interesting in parts, my favourite films are the quintessential British movies full of charm, humour and familiarity. This had a great cast, the acting was decent, they still had to add in the pc moments but I guess that's a must these days but nothing really landed enough for you to be that bothered about this film, it was all mediocre with things that I'd felt I'd scene in movies 20-25 years ago, this just felt made for the wrong reason with politics at heart and not helping like it should've. The main issue is the twist that happens pretty surprisingly, it felt forced and added in, it was quite surprising but felt extremely disjointed from what we'd watched, I'm not sure if they felt the movie was too dull or was a message they didn't want to endorse so had to U turn, but it didn't land and killed a potentially decent film dead.

I had no idea what this film was about as I hadn't seen a trailer. I still have no idea what this film is about having seen it. A stellar cast wasted on a bizarre story which seems to want us to want to appreciate the NHS (as a doctor I already do...) but then has a main character turn out to be a Shipman-type psycho for no real reason. The final scene was heartbreaking but completely out of sync from the rest of the film. It's a real shame as this seemed to be a real wasted opportunity. I'm not even sure why it had that title? A truly strange film. An hour and a half I'll never get back..

There are some plot twists you can see coming a mile off. There are many films where you know a twist is coming, even if you don't know what it'll be. Allelujah is a film where you don't realise there's going to be a twist t all, never mind one so vicious. Set in a small, crumbling hospital earmarked for closure, and which mostly deals with geriatric patients, Allelujah starts out as a classic Little Guy vs Government Machine story. There's much that is poignant, and much that is comic and there are fine performances throughout, particularly from Jennifer Saunders, David Bradley and Derek Jacobi. Then, just when the bureaucrat seems set for a big change of heart and the audience senses the feel-good ending, the rug's pulled out from under them completely. It's both devastating and unforgettable. Dr Valentine's final piece to camera is magnificent, as he says the things that *need* to be said.

This film has lots in its favour, as well as a few unusual quirks. It's full of the familiar quips and spirited acting you'd expect from the writer and cast - I've always felt that Bennett has probably been an expert on how old people talk since he was a child. It's not a documentary and I don't think medical verisimilitude was the main priority of the movie. But if you approach it from the point of view of the human beings involved, rather than getting too wrapped up in whether this is a 100% accurate depiction of a current institution, you'll appreciate the film far more. There's an unsettling twist near the end, and the final 60 seconds consists of a fourth-wall polemic which I thought was magnificent, but if you somehow feel that a movie about the closure of a much-loved medical institution should somehow avoid being "political" then this probably isn't the film for you. Otherwise, strongly recommended - it's warm-hearted but poignant.