Allelujah: Film Review
Richard Eyre has assembled a who’s who of British acting talent for Allelujah, the movie adaptation of Alan Bennett‘s 2018 play of the same name.
Starring Jennifer Saunders and Bally Gill, the comedy-drama follows the lives of the staff and patients in the geriatric ward at The Bethlehem, or The Beth, a small hospital in Wakefield, Yorkshire that is under threat of closure.
I wasn’t sure this film was going to be my cup of tea at first. I thought it would be a stuffy comedy about old people being crabby or rude. Admittedly, there is still a lot of that, but a dark and unexpected twist towards the end elevated the story and made it more interesting than I expected. I thought I knew how this film was going to pan out but I really didn’t!
Allelujah delivers a strong statement of support for the NHS and those who dedicate their lives to caring for others. It sticks its middle finger up to the government for slowly dismantling the institution piece by piece. The messaging gets a bit too heavy-handed at the end with a jarring fourth-wall-breaking moment set during the pandemic (an update to the play). But, I can forgive that because I fully support the message and want caregivers’ efforts during the pandemic to be sung about more. However, you could argue that the big twist undermines its message a little.
Out of all the characters, the one that bothered me most was Russell Tovey‘s Colin. He works for the health minister who is planning to shut The Beth down and goes there to visit his father Joe (David Bradley). His transformation from a cold bureaucrat to a caring son who supports the NHS felt too quick and unearned and I didn’t believe it.
On a positive note, Saunders stands out as The Beth’s no-nonsense manager Sister Gilpin, who runs a tight ship, while Judi Dench has a quiet role on the sidelines as the adorable Mary and Gill’s Dr Valentine as a heart of gold.
While Allelujah is a pleasant watch, it simply isn’t funny enough and the characters are mostly thin stereotypes. However, I appreciated the unexpected ending and its vocal support of the NHS.
In cinemas from Friday 17th March