The story of a geriatric ward in a small Yorkshire hospital threatened with closure.The story of a geriatric ward in a small Yorkshire hospital threatened with closure.The story of a geriatric ward in a small Yorkshire hospital threatened with closure.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
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 - 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.
I thought I was all set for a heart warming feel good film. Very depressing. Tackles the issues of geriatric care and there's no happy ending we all are going to die. Jennifer Saunders is really different to how we usually see her. No make up dowdy and with a northern accent. It didn't surprise me she could transform successfully into a no nonsense matron of a Yorkshire hospital given all of the characters she played in French and Saunders. Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi of course steal the show. The words spoken as a narrative over the film by Dr Valentine had me sobbing into a tissue throughout .
Maybe TIFF wasn't the best place to launch this very British film based on a play ?
The NHS ( National Health Service) is shown in a microcosm of political and cynical struggles in a small community hospital unit for old people needing special care.
It's very Alan Bennett, although with short but still cutting monologues , some are funnier than others but all serve a purpose.
The geriatric ward is the logical place to highlight the old and decrepit hospital system, fighting for survival at death's door, but there are more metaphors here, the NHS is killing people due to a lack of resources, most notably a shortage of beds, is there even a shortage of carers?.
Jennifer Saunders is great as the head nurse trying her best to keep a 'clean' ward, but working to targets for turnover of patients and moving them through the system comes at a heavy price, closure is imminent and her efficiency is not enough.
The doctor is stereotypical, an Asian immigrant with a nostalgic true vocational outlook to care for his patients with a hands on approach.
The patients are a who's who of British stalwart actors and they are very convincing as geriatrics, each representing the problems within the health care system. One patient's son happens to be a management consultant for the government's health minister and getting a personal experience of the hospital suggests the need for 'government' to understand the real world of this care in the community, rather than just facts and figures on spreadsheets, it's a political statement about how things are failing people by going for large scale centres of excellence?.
As a person with a lot of personal experience of the NHS and getting old too, I can relate to the representation if not actually recognise the geriatric care unit.
The film takes a risky turn or two near the end especially with a plea for support and understanding of the caring people who work in the NHS providing a public service, which is now underappreciated again post pandemic, although ironically with the recent strike action this has probably not helped their case.
This is bound to be a divisive film and some may be disappointed by it's change in tone from comedy to politics, especially if they don't understand the British system or the metaphors about it.
The NHS ( National Health Service) is shown in a microcosm of political and cynical struggles in a small community hospital unit for old people needing special care.
It's very Alan Bennett, although with short but still cutting monologues , some are funnier than others but all serve a purpose.
The geriatric ward is the logical place to highlight the old and decrepit hospital system, fighting for survival at death's door, but there are more metaphors here, the NHS is killing people due to a lack of resources, most notably a shortage of beds, is there even a shortage of carers?.
Jennifer Saunders is great as the head nurse trying her best to keep a 'clean' ward, but working to targets for turnover of patients and moving them through the system comes at a heavy price, closure is imminent and her efficiency is not enough.
The doctor is stereotypical, an Asian immigrant with a nostalgic true vocational outlook to care for his patients with a hands on approach.
The patients are a who's who of British stalwart actors and they are very convincing as geriatrics, each representing the problems within the health care system. One patient's son happens to be a management consultant for the government's health minister and getting a personal experience of the hospital suggests the need for 'government' to understand the real world of this care in the community, rather than just facts and figures on spreadsheets, it's a political statement about how things are failing people by going for large scale centres of excellence?.
As a person with a lot of personal experience of the NHS and getting old too, I can relate to the representation if not actually recognise the geriatric care unit.
The film takes a risky turn or two near the end especially with a plea for support and understanding of the caring people who work in the NHS providing a public service, which is now underappreciated again post pandemic, although ironically with the recent strike action this has probably not helped their case.
This is bound to be a divisive film and some may be disappointed by it's change in tone from comedy to politics, especially if they don't understand the British system or the metaphors about it.
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.
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.
Being UK based and over 60 years old I found this film a little to close to home and therefore so very powerful. It was funny, beautiful and so very sad. It was Alan Bennett all over. Everything was very small and beautifully presented. There was not an ounce of energy wasted, it was all perfectly placed. All the main characters had a tiny vignette which gave them enough of a back story to make them real people. The doctor was from a society that holds dear it's elderly and silently struggles to understand why his patients aren't held in the same high esteem. The film ends with the Doctors monolog praising the people of the NHS and so it should. A political piece, probably but more a piece about our attitudes to the elderly.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe point about the Earnshaws needing their mother to hang on for another three months relates to UK Inheritance Tax. No tax is payable on any gift given more than seven years before the giver dies. If however, the giver dies within seven years, tax can be applied retrospectively. There is a sliding scale, known as taper relief, so that if the giver dies six years after the gift (as here), the tax rate is 8% (from a maximum of 40%).
In the case of large transfers (eg a property), even after various allowances are taken into account, 8% can amount to a significant sum.
- GoofsAfter a death, a pulse is checked using a thumb. You should never take a pulse using your thumb as it has its own pulse.
- Quotes
Sister Gilpin: I mean, all these managers, all they think about is movement isn't it? Like the hospital system is just some giant bowel that has to keep pumping out shit.
- How long is Allelujah?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $5,631,642
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Color
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
