Allelujah! (Alan Bennett) - Film Adaptation

But…why? It didn’t exactly get glowing reviews when it was on at the Bridge, are these people that desperate for the money?

It's not the greatest play but any excuse to have more Bennett filmed is fantastic.

17th February. 

Even the trailer bores me, looks like something Richard Curtis would knock out.

I really hated the stage show - poor Deborah Findlay deserved better than the absolute dross this was.

It's such a shame too as Bennett has written so many great plays.

It’s UK release was originally set for Feb 17th but got pushed back a month until 17th Mar.

It first started being publicised at the end of the Summer when it was being shown at the Toronto Film Fest.

Depending on how hot the property is (i.e. relatively lukewarm for this one), these potential awards-bait films can sometimes take a while to finally get rolled out if the distributor knows they’re not going to gain much traction.

However, March is usually quite a slow month box office-wise but unusually, March 2023 has quite a few potential moneyspinners on the table - Scream 6, Shazam 2, 65 (dinosaur action adventure starring Adam Driver) - so Allelujah might be quite a canny cinematic alternative for an older, more discerning* audience.

*And by discerning, I don’t necessarily mean quality, just those with a low threshold for nonsense. Why have Judi Dench be eaten by a T-Rex when she can just as easily whither away quite respectfully in an overcrowded NHS ward?

I saw a preview of the film earlier (the auditorium was full!) , and loved it.

And I did see the NT live of the play, but how telling that despite sitting through the film, none of it seemed familiar or came flooding back to me.

The film by comparison was much more satisfying, except the new ending (I'll say no more)

Saw a preview of the film tonight and really enjoyed it - a tough watch in places having had elderly relatives in similar situations and with my parents not getting any younger, but a really fantastic film.

I just hope there’s a screening being organised for the cabinet given the points it makes about the NHS and what they do for us all. Russell Tovey and David Bradley as his Dad made me cry. Well worth a watch.

Still thinking about this today - wishing I’d seen the play now. Perhaps the film will prompt a revival.

Just returned from watching this in my local Vue cinema. I'd seen it on stage and thought it transferred well. Some nice performances.
Am I right in thinking that the very, very end was not in the play? (not to spoil it for anyone).
The cinema kept the house lights off for the credits so everyone stayed in their seats. Thought this was good as it meant you could gather your thoughts before the lights came up.
Can anyone who has seen it tell me if it was very dark? I mean in brightness rather than content. To me everything was really dark and hard to see so don't know if it was intentional or something wrong at the cinema.

Thanks for confirming that. I had my suspicion as the adverts and trailers seemed the same and didn't think it was my eyesight.

I think it’s a standard problem now, I don’t know the exact science but it’s to do with the films all being shot digitally and the projecting equipment not creating any light on the screen anymore i.e. the antithesis of the celluloid experience. It’s very bad at my local Odeon and marginally better at Cineworld but still not perfect. It does make for a frustrating experience. Particularly bad for this film, I agree, as it’s set in a gloomy, grey hospital.