Allelujah

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 .

Likeable characters emotional film dealing with the problems of old age & the relationships between staff, patients & relatives. Many big names who have aged including a star from the sitcom Desmonds.

Think the Asian doctors accent was over done & the last 5 mins of the film were an unnecessary & spoiled the film for me. No need to end the film in such a way at all.

Russell tovey character was responsible for the advice to close down the ward despite his father being a patient there. Was a bit puzzled by the twist in the film & how it came to light, very simplistic.

Did enjoy the film & for those interested in saving the nhs , who work in care or have elderly relatives , go see this film.

Do not get me wrong, the movie has funny bits and pieces, but I do not believe it is meant to be a funny movie. It is more a harsh reflection on healthcare and how we treat our elderly. But for me it did not get too dark, I also enjoyed it very much.

Jennifer Saunders really has grown as an actress I think. We know she can do funny, but in this more serious role she blossoms as well.

However, do you wanna watch because of dame Judy Dench, do not get your hopes up too much. She has a smaller part and for me a bit too small and on the side.

Overall, very well acted. If you are not English I recommend decent subtitles.

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.

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.