Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueThe 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.
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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.
On the positive side, the acting was great. I particularly liked Jennifer Saunders' portrayal of a dedicated, no-nonsense ward sister, and David Bradley's retired miner. The underlying message of the threat to the NHS by those that don't understand its core values is an important one. But this film was not the way to make that point.
Although, as you'd expect with a strong cast, the acting was great, many of the characters were tediously stereotyped: the charming Asian doctor who 'loved old people', the bubbly, enthusiastic nurse, a range of old people who used Alan Bennett one-liners to establish themselves as sweetly eccentric, away with the fairies, or curmudgeonly in a loveable way. You could tell just by the body language that the children of an old lady were up to no good and just wanted to fleece her. The son of the miner who had gone South to forge a successful career as a management consultant was predictably transformed from an over-confident critic of the hospital to a supporter.
The setting was not so much stereotyped as confusing. The threatened hospital did have one doctor, one nurse, a sister, and a physiotherapist, and some of the patients were sick - indeed the plot hinged on a character who was worried that if he improved he'd be sent back to a nursing home. But most of the activities that we saw suggested that the institution was a care home - the old people seemed to be long-term residents and were well enough to shuffle around doing craft activities and reminiscence therapy. A film crew from the local paper were drifting around interviewing residents. It was as if the original intention was to make a film about a care home, but they then realised that if they wanted the message to be about the NHS, they needed to make it into a hospital.
I won't include spoilers but just to say that just when you think this is going to be a totally saccharine experience, where the struggling hospital will be saved from closure, there is a plot twist that acts like a hand grenade in derailing all expectations. It might have worked if the rest of the film had been more believable, but it seemed totally unsatisfactory in the context of the rest of the film.
And then, at the end we have bolted on a section where the nice doctor is now in a covid ward, making a heartfelt plea for the continuation of the NHS, while showing devastating scenes of patients in corridors, and exhausted staff in PPE struggling to cope. I found myself wishing that Ken Loach had made a film on this theme: that would have been far more effective than this clunky treatment.
Although, as you'd expect with a strong cast, the acting was great, many of the characters were tediously stereotyped: the charming Asian doctor who 'loved old people', the bubbly, enthusiastic nurse, a range of old people who used Alan Bennett one-liners to establish themselves as sweetly eccentric, away with the fairies, or curmudgeonly in a loveable way. You could tell just by the body language that the children of an old lady were up to no good and just wanted to fleece her. The son of the miner who had gone South to forge a successful career as a management consultant was predictably transformed from an over-confident critic of the hospital to a supporter.
The setting was not so much stereotyped as confusing. The threatened hospital did have one doctor, one nurse, a sister, and a physiotherapist, and some of the patients were sick - indeed the plot hinged on a character who was worried that if he improved he'd be sent back to a nursing home. But most of the activities that we saw suggested that the institution was a care home - the old people seemed to be long-term residents and were well enough to shuffle around doing craft activities and reminiscence therapy. A film crew from the local paper were drifting around interviewing residents. It was as if the original intention was to make a film about a care home, but they then realised that if they wanted the message to be about the NHS, they needed to make it into a hospital.
I won't include spoilers but just to say that just when you think this is going to be a totally saccharine experience, where the struggling hospital will be saved from closure, there is a plot twist that acts like a hand grenade in derailing all expectations. It might have worked if the rest of the film had been more believable, but it seemed totally unsatisfactory in the context of the rest of the film.
And then, at the end we have bolted on a section where the nice doctor is now in a covid ward, making a heartfelt plea for the continuation of the NHS, while showing devastating scenes of patients in corridors, and exhausted staff in PPE struggling to cope. I found myself wishing that Ken Loach had made a film on this theme: that would have been far more effective than this clunky treatment.
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.
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.
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.
There are some plot twists you can see coming a mile off. There are many films where you know a twist is coming, even if you don't know what it'll be. Allelujah is a film where you don't realise there's going to be a twist t all, never mind one so vicious.
Set in a small, crumbling hospital earmarked for closure, and which mostly deals with geriatric patients, Allelujah starts out as a classic Little Guy vs Government Machine story. There's much that is poignant, and much that is comic and there are fine performances throughout, particularly from Jennifer Saunders, David Bradley and Derek Jacobi.
Then, just when the bureaucrat seems set for a big change of heart and the audience senses the feel-good ending, the rug's pulled out from under them completely. It's both devastating and unforgettable.
Dr Valentine's final piece to camera is magnificent, as he says the things that *need* to be said.
Set in a small, crumbling hospital earmarked for closure, and which mostly deals with geriatric patients, Allelujah starts out as a classic Little Guy vs Government Machine story. There's much that is poignant, and much that is comic and there are fine performances throughout, particularly from Jennifer Saunders, David Bradley and Derek Jacobi.
Then, just when the bureaucrat seems set for a big change of heart and the audience senses the feel-good ending, the rug's pulled out from under them completely. It's both devastating and unforgettable.
Dr Valentine's final piece to camera is magnificent, as he says the things that *need* to be said.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesThe 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.
- GaffesAfter a death, a pulse is checked using a thumb. You should never take a pulse using your thumb as it has its own pulse.
- Citations
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.
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Détails
Box-office
- Brut – à l'échelle mondiale
- 5 631 642 $ US
- Durée1 heure 39 minutes
- Couleur
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