Allelujah (film)

Allelujah is a 2022 British drama film directed by Richard Eyre and written by Heidi Thomas. It is based on Alan Bennett's play of the same name. The film stars Jennifer Saunders, Bally Gill, Russell Tovey, David Bradley, Derek Jacobi, and Judi Dench.

Allelujah had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2022, and was released in the United Kingdom on 17 March 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Plot
The Bethlehem hospital, nicknamed "the Beth" by locals, staff and residents, is a small geriatric hospital in the city of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, being threatened with closure due to funding cuts to the NHS. Among the staff that work there are a doctor known simply as Dr. Valentine, and head nurse Sister Alma Gilpin, who is to be honoured for her services to the Beth with a concert and the presentation of a medal.

A filming crew from a local television programme called Pennine People is invited to the Beth to document a volunteer-led effort to save it from closure, during which time they also interview the Chairman of the Board and some of the residents. At the same time, Colin Colman, a consultant to the Health Secretary, arrives at the Beth, whose closure he had advised, to visit his father Joe and assess the hospital. One of the residents, Mary Moss, is discouraged from being interviewed on-camera by the television crew, but Valentine gives her an iPad and encourages her to document her day-to-day experiences.

A frail incontinent woman named Mrs. Maudsley is admitted to the Beth and initially looked after by Valentine, but tended to by Alma the following night. She is found dead the next morning, and the Beth is threatened with legal action by her daughter and son-in-law, who were due to inherit her home only three months later. During this time, the Beth takes on a work experience student, Andy, and Colin reconnects with his estranged father, the two contemplating Joe's attempts to politically indoctrinate his son. Realising the Beth's importance to not only his father but also the local community, Colin returns to London and passionately defends it in a meeting, storming out after his pleas are ignored by the others present.

That night, Andy fails to act in enough time to prevent Joe from soiling himself in his bed. He is tended to by Alma, who makes a reference to his being on "the list". Afraid of what this might mean, Joe calls Colin and confides this fear in him. The next morning, Andy arrives at the Beth with a pack of cigarettes that Joe had requested he get, but finds Joe dead in his bed. The ceremony to honour Alma is due to occur that day; before it starts, Mary takes Valentine to one side and shows him a video she took of Alma tending to Mrs. Maudsley. Valentine deduces that Alma has been poisoning the most frail residents by lacing their night-time cups of warm milk with morphine. He alerts the Chairman of the Board to this during the ceremony. Alma is jailed for life, and the Beth is closed, with its residents being moved to various other facilities.

In an epilogue, Valentine is shown working in an intensive care unit at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, where he encounters Ambrose, one of the Beth's former residents, who dies holding his hand. An exhausted, enraged Valentine leaves the hospital and breaks the fourth wall with an impassioned monologue in defence of the NHS.

Cast

 * Jennifer Saunders as Sister Alma Gilpin
 * Judi Dench as Mary Moss
 * Russell Tovey as Colin Colman
 * David Bradley as Joe Colman
 * Derek Jacobi as Ambrose
 * Bally Gill as Dr. Valentine
 * Gerard Horan as Mr. Earnshaw
 * Jessica Baglow as Dr. Jess
 * Eileen Davies as Molly
 * Julia McKenzie as Mrs. Maudsley
 * Marjorie Yates as Hazel

Production
In October 2021, it was announced that Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Jennifer Saunders, Bally Gill, Russell Tovey, and David Bradley had joined the cast of the film, and principal photography began later that month.

Release
Allelujah had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released on 17 March 2023 by Pathé in France and Switzerland and in the United Kingdom through Warner Bros. Pictures.

Critical reception
The film has received a polarised response from critics.