Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Benediction is a biopic about the life and poetry of Siegfried Sassoon (Jack Lowden).
The film begins during World War I, when Sassoon was in the military. After taking an anti-war stance, he’s sent to a psychiatric facility for rehabilitation. While at the facility, he becomes friendly with his physician, Dr. Rivers (Ben Daniels,) who comes out to him after Sassoon mentions that he has had feelings for other men. This is the first time Sassoon has admitted to anyone that he is homosexual and allows him to explore that side of himself.
After the war, Sassoon gets involved with Ivor Novello (Jeremy Irvine), which is the affair the film focuses on. From here the movie depicts Sassoon’s life as a gay man living in post war England.
Some Thoughts:
Benediction could have been interesting if the pacing was better and the dialog didn’t try so hard to be witty. Every conversation is full of clever quips, which gets annoying after a while. And although it’s nice to hear Sassoon’s poetry and see the accompanying imagery, they’re poorly incorporated into the story.
Sassoon goes through life as an openly gay man with no sense of danger, making the story feel a bit pointless. On top of that, early in the film Dr. Rivers mentions that gay men must live a “shadow life,” but Sasson doesn’t seem to hide that he’s homosexual. His affair with Novello is conducted out in the open. They have intimate conversations in restaurants and at parties with little to no scorn directed at them.
Sassoon’s relationship with Novello makes up the central story, but it’s hard to understand what it is about Novello that attracts Sassoon. The film doesn’t go into any depth as to why Sassoon would want to be around him, nor is it profound enough to be life changing. It’s more like an annoying rash that you just want to go away.
The Final Verdict:
The story behind Benediction has been told many times before, and better. And although the cinematography and acting are decent, the pacing is off and makes it difficult to sit through.