Worth: $12.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Jennifer Saunders, Judi Dench, David Bradley, Bally Gill, Derek Jacobi, Russell Tovey
Intro:
... there is enough talent and theatrical heft behind this to make it worth a look ...
Britain’s famed National Health Service [NHS] was created just after the Second World War, partly in response to the new egalitarian mood that swept the Labour Party into power. Ever since, it has been attacked by conservative politicians of the Thatcherite persuasion, who say it is too expensive to maintain for an aging population. Equally, it has a place in people’s hearts and there is much popular sentiment behind the idea that it must be defended at all costs.
You need all this background to really appreciate the emotional appeal of this hospital-based drama based on an original play by British national treasure Alan Bennett.
The film is directed by Richard Eyre (Iris, The Children Act), another much-feted presence on the British theatre and film scene.
It also has a very solid cast, with lots of familiar faces turning up (is there any recent British film of note without Dame Judi Dench?). The lead, interestingly, is comedian Jennifer Saunders, sporting a convincing Northern accent. She plays Sister Gilpin, a no-nonsense matronly type who rules her geriatric ward with a rod of iron.
The film has lots of little stories (too many actually) which all narrate the various dilemmas of looking after the aged and trying to do the right thing in difficult circumstances. One of these stories features crabby dying miner Jo (David Bradley), whose son happens to be a bureaucrat partly responsible for the proposed merger/closure of the long-loved hospital. That dramatic device feels a little contrived, though their scenes are well played. The other linking narrative concerns a dedicated young doctor, Dr Valentine (British stage actor Bally Gill), a person of Indian descent, who claims to ‘love the old’. In one of the film’s best lines, a patient brings in a dose of down-to-earth realism when he says “don’t be ridiculous, even the old don’t like the old”.
There are some affecting scenes and, of course the acting is mostly top drawer, but it still comes across as a collection of bits rather than an organic whole. At least, as realised here on the screen, it also has odd artistic choices, including one weird sideways lurch concerning a central character, which isn’t really earned and feels distinctly odd. This unevenness could be forgiven, but it doesn’t help the film to convince.
After the sterling work that the nurses did during the Covid epidemic (people were applauding them in the street), it would seem churlish to be critical. However, not being critical of actual health workers, and making a good film/play are different things. That is part of the problem, in a way, as Bennett strives to lay out the human dimension of the complex business of running hospitals without the piece lapsing into straight propaganda for the NHS.
Still, there is enough talent and theatrical heft behind this to make it worth a look during visiting hours.
