Hillsborough is a Dramatisation of the 15 April 1989 Hillsborough disaster, in which 97 people died as a result of a fatal crush at the Hillsborough football stadium at the FA cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham forest. The drama focuses on the deaths of four of the victims and the impact of their families:
- Sisters Vicki and Sarah Hicks, aged 15 and 19, survived by their parents, Jenni and Trevor.
- Adam Spearritt, aged 14, survived by his parents, Jan and Eddie.
- Ian Glover, aged 20, survived by his parents, John and Teresa, and his brother, Joe.
Provides examples of:
- Agony of the Feet: Eddie Spearitt leaves hospital as soon as he's physically able to do so in order to view Adam's body, stepping out of a taxi in his bare and visibly bloodied feet.
- Divorce Assets Conflict: Jenni and Trevor decide to separate when Jenni wants to move to Liverpool to be closer to where Vicki and Sarah are buried. There's a scene where they sit on the floor of their living room and try to divide up the girls' possessions between them.
- Establishing Shot: There's a brief wide shot of the football ground where Adam and his teammates with Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral in the background.
- The End Is Nigh: A man with a sandwich board is briefly seen outside the stadium before kick-off.
- Passionate Sports Girl: Both Sarah and Vicki are huge Liverpool fans. Vicki wants to be a sports journalist and regularly writes up match reports on her typewriter.
- Skewed Priorities: One injured little boy gets upset at the paramedics needing to cut up his jumper because he thinks his mum will be angry with him.
- Shout-Out:
- "Song for Whoever" by The Beautiful South plays in the background while Vicki types up one of her match reports.
- "Abide with Me" is sung at a vigil for the victims.
- When the accidental death verdict is read out at the inquest, one woman starts singing "You'll Never Walk Alone", but she's mostly drowned out by the rest of the noise in the courtroom.
- Stock Footage: The film incorporates real footage of the disaster captured by Grandstand.
- Talking Heads: The action is intercut with interviews, but rather than being with the real-life counterparts of the characters depicted in the Dramatisation, they are played by the actors.
- Trying Not to Cry: Trevor Hicks has to visibly fight back tears before opening the door to the horde of press who've assembled on his doorstep after his daughters' deaths.
