How about you? (Hayley Attwell)

(Amazon UK link)

December is here, so I pulled out our Christmas DVD collection. We have about thirty of them, currently; if we watch five each year that means we can see each one around once every six years. I usually like leaving at least five years before re-watching a film, unless it’s exceptional.

We saw ‘How about you?’ almost eight years ago in February 2017, rather later than the Christmas period. I recalled quite liking it, and also that it was loosely based on a short story by Maeve Binchy. My husband didn’t remember it at all.

Hayley Attwell stars as Ellie, a young woman who needs a job. She turns up at the care home for the elderly run by her sister Kate (Orla Brady), asking to work there. Kate is dubious: Ellie has a history of being irresponsible and causing problems by her outspokenness. But Ellie pleads, and Kate gives in.

One of the first residents whom Ellie gets to know is Alice (Joan O’Hara) who is frail, in some pain, and aware that she is dying. Alice feels hemmed in by her nurse, and wants the freedom to go out and about in her wheelchair. Ellie agrees to do this, and also to acquire some cannabis to ease Alice’s pain… but when Kate discovers it, she is furious. It could lead to the home being closed. It’s already lost some staff and several residents, mainly due to the bad behaviour of four of them.

These four are Georgia (Vanessa Redgrave), Donald (Joss Ackland), and two sisters called Hazel (Imelda Staunton) and Heather (Brenda Fricker). Georgia is a former stage star who hankers after her youth, and drinks too much. Donald is a supposedly reformed alcoholic who was widowed a couple of years earlier. Hazel is an artist who is over-protected by Heather. All four are rude, argumentative and demanding.

By the time the film was half-way through I was wondering why I had put it in our Christmas collection, but then, in the last half-hour or so, Christmas approaches. Most of the residents are collected by family members to be taken to their homes for a week or so. Ellie is eager to take a break, and only Kate will remain, to look after the four difficult residents who have nowhere else to go.

Then a crisis occurs, and Kate has to leave. So Ellie is in charge… she promises to behave, but becomes increasingly exhausted and stressed by the incessant demands of these angry people. She finally loses her temper and lets them know what she thinks of them. She also tells them that the home will probably be closed due to their attitudes and behaviour…

But it’s a Christmas feel-good film, so inevitably the four difficult residents are brought to their senses and decide to get along. Not that they are perfect by any means, and there are more difficulties for Ellie as she tries to treat them as a family. Then there’s always the worry of a health and safety officer arriving, since Ellie has no qualifications and leaving the residents in her care is not legal.

There are moments of humour in this film which, on the whole, is light-hearted, even though it includes some more serious issues. The acting is good, as one would expect with an all-star cast. It has just the right balance of poignancy and lightness, in my view.

There are some lovely Christmas scenes with amazing food, beautiful table layouts, and more, and while the ending is perhaps a bit predictable, it was very enjoyable to watch. The whole film is beautifully done, and we were totally engrossed. It’s not long - just under 90 minutes - and there are no extras on our DVD. But it made a good start to the Christmas season.

The rating is 15 which surprised me a bit, as there are only mild sexual references - no nudity or anything explicit - and no violence. But there are several instances of strong language, and the drugs… so that’s why it has such a high rating. I doubt if children or young teens would be interested anyway in a film about elderly folk in a care home.

But if you want a well-made, thoughtful film with a pleasantly Christmassy ending, I would recommend ‘How about you’.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews