Help is a British Made-for-TV Movie directed by Marc Munden and produced by Channel 4. It first aired in September 2021.
In Liverpool, young Former Teen Rebel Sarah (Jodie Comer) is hired at a care home where she forms a close bond with a resident, Tony (Stephen Graham). When the COVID-19 Pandemic hits, though, the home is tested like never before.
Not to be confused with The Help or with Help!.
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Sarah's father never bought her a present one Christmas when she was a teen and constantly berates her. Her mother is a Useless Bystander Parent.
- Blatant Lies: Characters frequently tell the care home that care homes are still a priority, while providing them with no help.
- Closest Thing We Got: The care homes have hardly any help from doctors or hospitals, soon migrating to no help, so are forced to do the jobs of doctors, cleaners, and multiple other workers because COVID rips through them all, often working from online forums.
- Commonality Connection: Sarah and Tony bond over being a Former Teen Rebel.
- The Main Characters Do Everything: Justified. After Steve is infected, Sarah is left alone in the care home for nights because the only alternative is to get a sick person in, which means she has to rely on Tony even though he can't consent.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Justified. One of the first signs of COVID-19 is an extremely nasty cough. COVID has proved to be particularly lethal the older a person is.
- Intergenerational Friendship:
- Sarah becomes a close friend to Tony, alongside many other residents at the care home.
- Tony's best friend is Kenny, who is a lot older than him but they are both in the care home together.
- No Help Is Coming: The characters beg for help, from Public Health England to 111 to 999. Nobody comes to help them due to the pandemic, and the front line of nurses being sent to hospitals, surgeries and anywhere but care homes.
- Oop North: The story is set in Liverpool.
- The Oner: Used to harrowing effect on the one night when Sarah is left alone by herself at the home. The 25 minute sequence follows Sarah as she juggles helping Kenny with his severe coughing fits, phoning for an ambulance with no luck, sanitizing and refitting PPE, and then asking Tony to help her flip Kenny onto his front.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Based on the early stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic that decimated UK care homes in 2020 (and many others throughout Western Europe).
- Stepford Smiler: Despite the desperate situation, Sarah has to try and stay positive to avoid panicking the other residents.
- Too Desperate to Be Picky: So many examples, such as the carers having to use dust masks rather than face masks because no PPE is available.
