Allelujah

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Reggie A @RT30258113 Nov 16, 2025 This movie started off like the typical gentle British comedy in the tradition of Brassed Off, Calendar Girls or Billy Elliott. It wasn't particularly funny and was fairly cliched, but at least it had a plot, then suddenly its like the old script was abandoned and the actors just decided to make it up. After meandering along, the last five minutes included a weirdly incongruous murder plot and an ad for the NHS. Special mention needs to be made of the performance of Russell Tovey. His character was the son of a patient and he was a management consultant working for the Health Minister. I have never seen such an angry, one note performance. It was terrible to watch. I hope Dame Judi Dench and Derk Jacobi were well paid. It would be the only solace for this stinker. See more Carolyn Y @RT04667063 Nov 16, 2025 This starry cast a least allowed a great group of venerable actors to show they’re still great but the screenplay was odd- disjointed, unbelievable and lacking focus. Overall disappointment. See more John M @RT82437057 Jul 13, 2025 I didn't know what to expect when I started watching this film. But I was engaged. It shows some of the people who work in and rely on the NHS in a very human light and it makes you care about the characters. The twist was a shocker. And the message at the end had me almost in tears. It's got some emotional gut punches & some unintentionally funny moments and if you work in the NHS) some quite realistic issues are highlighted. Given the way it's going it's quite relevant too. Well worth 93 minutes of your time. See more Paul T @RT41443377 Jul 14, 2024 The movie took a turn that was unexpected. I was left disappointed and upset. Foxtel, the viewing platform I used was disingenuous in its brief explanation of movie. Quoting "when the geriatric ward in a small Yorkshire hospital is threatened with closure, the hospital decides to fight back." This synopsis was not the movie I watched. See more Karl J @Beechykarl Feb 4, 2024 What a muddled mess. Is is a hospital or an old folks home? The "patients" seemed relatively healthy and the togetherness forced. Jennifer Saunders was not convincing as a caring nurse. The plot has been done before with more laughs and more tears. A disappointing movie all round. See more Alan W @PatronWong Dec 30, 2023 Based on a recent Alan Bennett play which has been described as a love letter to UK's National Health Service, Richard Eyre's film, with a screenplay adapted by Heidi Thomas, is set in a fictional Yorkshire hospital specialising in geriatric care which is threatened with closure due to cost cutting. Weaving together various individual vignettes of both patients and staff, it seeks to paint a picture of a state-run medical system whose resources are stretched paper thin whilst advocating on behalf of the less-than-glamorous sector of elderly care and their importance in a modern developed society. This is mostly a sweet film, and come the final scene, an emotionally rousing call-to-arms to save a thoroughly British institution that many of us come to depend upon as a matter of life and death. So it's rather odd, if not contradictory, for the script to have such an unexpected genre-switching sting at the end, which can do its main objective a disservice. Far be it for me to criticise a national treasure such as Bennett, but this fictional hospital unrealistically seems to function with only one doctor (probably betraying its theatrical roots) whilst the storylines here don't raise far beyond the level of that one finds in Holby City. What does impress, in this well-intentioned but curious film, is Jennifer Saunders' performance, channelling Julie Walters, as the head nurse, where she's so immerse into her character, you forget you're watching the comedienne plays a non-comedic role. It's also great to see David Bradley in a meatier role that allows him to work his acting muscles, which he does so rather beautifully, as does Derek Jacobi in a smaller role; while Judi Dench fans should be warned that she's only peripherally here to boost the wattage of a thoroughly British cast of thespians. See more Read all reviews

Allelujah

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