Allelujah
Alan Bennett, the maestro of the bittersweet, champions the dignity of the aged in the feel-sad film of the year.
Age cannot wither: Bally Gill and Judi Dench
Allelujah is not a barrel of laughs. The publicity and trailer may suggest otherwise, but then a blunt, perceptive view of old age and infirmity is unlikely to draw the masses, let alone the silver pound. Alan Bennett, from whose play it has been adapted, was 84 when he wrote it and he remains one of the most humane and eloquent voices in British theatre.
The piece is set in the geriatric ward of a Yorkshire hospital, known as “the Beth” by the locals (short for Bethlehem). As a documentary crew attempts to chronicle life in the trenches of the institution, a Westminster minister (Russell Tovey) hovers in the wings with a view to closing it down, even though his elderly father (David Bradley) has been admitted with an infection. And then there’s Sister Gilpin (Jennifer Saunders) who brandishes her compassion like a standard and is determined to keep “a clean ward” in the face of the urinary and faecal odds.
It's always a pleasure to encounter such seasoned professionals tapping into their skill sets, and there is no shortage of talent here. However, it is David Bradley as Joe Colman, a former miner, who is the personification of the grumpy old man and who holds centre stage with his splenetic air, homophobia and pantomime cough. In direct contrast there’s Sister Gilpin, the calm, caring captain of her realm whose motto is, “don’t leave it too late to die.” She has a point, as the rasping, arthritic, incontinent fighters in her platoon are a sorry lot, both eager for and afeared of “the last visitor” (Death). And in the ranks there’s Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Julia McKenzie and others, while the Coventry-born Bally Gill flies the flag for the medical professional as Dr Valentine. Just as Allelujah is a valentine to the NHS, so Gill’s doctor spouts the rousing last lines: “Please don’t make ‘the perfect’ the enemy of the good. Profit will not profit you. We are here for your first cry, for your last breath … We will be here when you're old, and we will die for you.”
The film, trimmed of the stage production’s fantasy sequences and production numbers, presents its ailing dramatis personae in brutal close-up. Some are funny, some pathetic, and some unashamedly resistant to their fate. And yet there’s a conundrum. The demographic most attuned to (and in favour of) Alan Bennett’s wit and wisdom are those most likely to be affronted by it. The ‘jokes’ are few and far between and the tone is sombre and hushed. Where Allelujah succeeds is as a rallying call for the NHS and for the cheerful, devoted nurses that man its halls of despair and fading memories. It is an articulate call-to-arms and about as timely as a tourniquet in an amputation.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Jennifer Saunders, Bally Gill, Russell Tovey, David Bradley, Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench, Lorraine Ashbourne, Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Vincent Franklin, Gerard Horan, Julia McKenzie, Jesse Akele, Jessica Baglow, Eileen Davis, Marlene Sidaway, Ross Tomlinson, Paul Butterworth.
Dir Richard Eyre, Pro Damian Jones and Kevin Loader, Screenplay Heidi Thomas, Ph Ben Smithard, Pro Des Donal Woods, Ed John Wilson, Music George Fenton, Costumes Jacqueline Durran, Sound Glenn Freemantle, Dialect coach Richard Ryder.
Pathé/Ingenious Media/BBC Film/DJ Films/Redstart Productions-Pathé Productions.
98 mins. UK. 2022. UK Rel: 17 March 2023. Cert. 12A.
