Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Help’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘Help’.

One thing that we can all agree upon, is that the last couple of years… have been difficult to say the least. Okay, that’s being nice, they’ve been a hellscape, plain and simple. Courtesy of political unrest, social unrest and an economy that’s offered up more twists and turns than a mountain road and that’s not the only thing that’s made the last couple of years as stressful as can be. Because to top it all off, we’ve been in the midst of a shockingly divisive global pandemic, one that has claimed millions of lives and is mired in rhetoric and difficulties when it comes to its end, and this event has been so impactful and eye opening for all of us… that it does leave one to wonder what will come next when it finally ends.
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But while there is great uncertainty surrounding tomorrow when it comes to the pandemic, one thing that will happen for certain… is that we will indeed reflect upon it and its meaning to humanity and what’s amazing, is that some people are getting a head start on that particular examination. Because there are plenty of powerful moments and musings and stories about the pandemic that are itching to be told by creative minds and the people that experienced some of the darkest hours of Covid’s reign, and it just so happens… that Acorn TV is now host to a motion picture that is getting a head start on exploring the impact the pandemic had, and continues to have, on front line workers in Help.

Now in this particular motion picture, we are transported back to the winter of 2019 to meet a woman named Sarah, who is looking for life to give her the break she needs. Because she’s out of work and living at home and is desperate to find a job and a way forward, and after one wild interview… she seems to find her calling when she starts working at a local care home. Because she connects with the folks in this place in a way she’s never connected with people before, to the point where she forges incredible bonds with some of the residents, including a kind man named Steve. But the arrival of the Covid-19 Pandemic is going to test Sarah and her bond with the residents like never before, courtesy of grave missteps and prejudices from the National Health Care system. 

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So, it’s best we get this out in the open now and point out… that this is a movie that holds nothing back in its presentation of the pandemic and all the missteps that in this instance, the United Kingdom’s healthcare system made regarding care homes. Since Sarah and her team are without PPE often in this tale and face incredible odds and what she goes through in this facility as the world buckles around her, makes for some powerful moments. The kind that leaves you transfixed on the screen with your heart racing and your hands clutching the pillows on your couch… as you watch her, and the residents suffer through Covid in every way imaginable. Giving this film a raw realism that makes it clear that front line workers went through hell to save lives, and watched so many innocent lives be lost on their watch at the height of the pandemic. 

But while that alone could have carried this movie over the course of its run time, it is what it has to say about what we could have done differently to alleviate the suffering of so many that makes this film so poignant and powerful. Obviously, for starters, the inaction on the part of the U.K. government and governments around the world led to a great deal of suffering and infections in health care facilities. As did not having PPE ready or properly distributed, and prioritizing care was also a horrid choice. Since it put facilities such as the fictional one here, under incredible duress and undoubtedly led to lost lives. But above all else, the most powerful message present in this film… is that the biggest failure of all when it comes to the pandemic, was the inability of some to be decent and courteous toward other people.

Because had some parties worried less about supposedly being ‘robbed’ of their ‘freedoms’ and listened to the science over rhetoric and had been just plain been decent people… who knows what the course of this pandemic would have looked like and that’s a powerful question to pose to the audience, one that gives us pause and demands that we reflect upon that core element of the human condition and how we improve it going forward. But of course, to genuinely hammer home that point and sell us on the power and the gravity of what front line workers experienced, you need a stellar cast, and this film has that as well. Because Jodie Comer (Sarah) turns in a brilliant and authentic and powerful performance that will bring you to tears and she is anchored by Stephen Graham (Steve), whose portrayal of a younger man suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s, is equally as moving and emotional and invests one into the story. So, if you’re looking for a powerful experience, one that chronicles some important aspects of the pandemic, and you’re ready to hear those stories, swing by Acorn TV first chance you get and give this incredible film a look.

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