DAVID ADAMS watches ‘Allelujah’…
Allelujah (AU-M/UK-12A)
In a word: Surprising
Sister Gilpin, played by Jennifer Sauders, in ‘Allelujah’.
COVID-19 brought the work of those employed in aged care into the light in a way we’d never seen before. Allelujah picks up that thread and celebrates it.
“Based on a play by Alan Bennett (of The Lady and the Van fame) and adapted by Richard Eyre, the story is introduced to us through the eyes of a young doctor, Dr Valentine (Bally Gill), who works at an aged care ward facing the risk of closure in Yorkshire.”
Based on a play by Alan Bennett (of The Lady and the Van fame) and directed by Richard Eyre, the story is introduced to us through the eyes of a young doctor, Dr Valentine (Bally Gill), who works at an aged care ward at the Bethlehem Hospital facing the risk of closure in Yorkshire.
We’re taken inside the home to meet both the Beth’s staff, headed by the unflappable and eminently capable Sister Gilpin (Jennifer Saunders), and the residents – from the grouchy Ambrose (Derek Jacoby) to the quiet introvert Mary (Judi Dench) – to confront the realities – and indignities – of life inside in a warts-and-all look at what takes place in the hospital ward day after day.
There’s several strands woven in as we’re given the backstories of some of the residents – including the relationship between ex-miner Joe Colman (David Bradley) and his gay son Colin (Russell Tovey) who also happens to consult for the Conservative government on the economics of shutting down such wards (and specifically that of the Beth).
With a stellar cast, Allelujah! essentially reads as a paean to the work of those who, though their work is often largely unacknowledged, look after those whom no-one else cares for (in fact, it pretty much turns into a public relations exercise towards the end of the film with a direct-to-camera address). But, beware, there is a sting in the tail of this story which sits rather incongruously with what has gone before.
There’s some strong performances as the story builds – the cast list speaks for itself in that regards – but it’s ultimately in the end-game that these became somewhat overwhelmed by events.
Which is a shame because it’s otherwise a very watchable film about an aspect of life we’ve come to know a little better thanks to the impact of the worldwide pandemic.
