Benediction (2021) User Reviews

Anthem for Doomed Youth

[davidgee · 8/10 · 12 September 2022]

Brownie points to Netflix for sponsoring this movie, which must have only limited appeal even to older gay viewers. Jack Lowden stars as World War One poet Siegfried Sassoon (Jack Lowden), whose emotional and sexual life director Terence Davies explores in this gloomy biopic. After publishing a letter condemning the military chiefs for the appalling death toll the conflict has brought, Sassoon is lucky not to be shot as a traitor; they send him to a mental institution where he meets and falls in love with fellow poet Wilfred Owen who's suffering from shell-shock (as PTSD was called in those dark days). Owen is sent back to die in Picardy in the last week of the war. The screenplay skates past Sassoon's brief return to active service.

After the war Siegfried has a brief affair with Ivor Novello (Jeremy Irvine), shown here as the uber-bitch in London's far-from-discreet gay set. Siegfried has a longer but equally unhappy affair with upper-crust socialite Stephen Tennant (Calam Lynch), the model for Sebastian Flyte in Evelyn Waugh's BRIDESHEAD REVISITED. Unhappy with homosexual life and converting to Catholicism, Sassoon marries. Flash-forward to his later life shows Sassoon (now played by Peter Capaldi) at odds with his wife and their son.

Throughout the movie Davies inserts horrific glimpses of battle casualties which never cease to haunt Sassoon. His poems are voice-overed from time to time, although two poems of Owen's make it clear that Sassoon was somewhat Second Division in comparison.

This is a beautifully shot movie, and all the cast perfectly evoke the look and feel of the 1920s and 30s, but the scriptwriter's prevailing tone is depressing. Male lovers and a wife all fail to bring happiness to Siegfried Sassoon. A life unfulfilled; a glum movie.

Interesting but flawed

[tm-sheehan · 7/10 · 8 July 2022]

My Review- Benediction

My Score 7/10

I always find something to enjoy in a Terence Davies film but often come away thinking that his screenplays and Direction tell us more about Terence Davies than they do about the subject of his story .

The subject in this movie is Siegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE who was born on September 8th 1886 . He was a famous English war poet, writer, and soldier who was decorated for bravery on the Western Front and became one of the leading poets of the First World War.

I was surprised to read that Terence Davies the writer and Director of Benediction has only made feature 24 films . Three of those are biographical and known as the Terence Davies Trilogy Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988), The Long Day Closes (1992) and the collage film Of Time and the City (2008) a nostalgic look at his birthplace city Liverpool U. K. In 2000 Terence Davies Directed and wrote the screenplay for his movie adaptation of The House of Mirth the 1905 novel by American author Edith Wharton.

After seeing Benediction Terence David's most recent movie I looked back on my previous review of his last feature film "A Quiet Passion " (2016) about the life of Emily Dickinson the famous American poet . I was interested to see that I felt similarly about that movie as do about "Benediction." a quote from my review- of A Quiet Passion ."

A bleak film written and directed by Terence Davies I thought though at times it's very beautiful that it would have been more balanced if he had shown less suffering and more of the joyful influences that inspired her poetry . I doubt her life was all despair and angst, perhaps it says more about Terence Davies than Emily Dickinson.

After seeing Benediction I read that Terence Davies has said I don't like being gay. It has ruined my life. I am celibate, although I think I would have been celibate even if I was straight because I'm not good-looking; why would anyone be interested in me? And nobody has been. Work was my substitute.

I think I understand all his films a little better after reading that as they all have a poetic undertone of sadness and regret while still at the same time especially in Benediction display the gift of panache and sophistication that many older Gay men ,especially in the film and television industry possess .

Benediction traces the life of the famous English poet Siegfried Sassoon CBE who was a brave and decorated First World War hero who won the Military Cross then left the Army and in 1917 .

Sassoon wrote his "Soldiers Declaration."in which he described the horrors of the trenches and satirised the pretensions of those responsible in his view that promoted a jingoistic-fuelled war.

This of course outraged the British Parliament and the Army Chiefs and resulted in Siegfried Sassoon being sent to a War Hospital in Edinburgh where he was treated for shell shock.

Jack Lowdon a Scottish actor who was so good in Dunkirk as an RAF fighter pilot is very impressive as the young and charming Siegfried Sassoon .

Siegfried has a number of affairs with male lovers including the famous and handsome actor composer Ivor Novello and later a very interesting affair with German Prince Philipp of Hesse which oddly is not mentioned in this story?

I wondered why after reading more about Siegfried's affairs that stated the two men exchanged love letters after meeting in Rome in 1922. The affair ended apparently due to Prince Phillipp of Hesse's promiscuity but in Sassoon's diary he wrote "I am the only one of P's regular succession of affairs " A biographical movie of course can't tell the whole story and we do get a glimpse of the elegant and sophisticated literary and art circles that Siegfried Sassoon and his friends frequented . However I found out much more about Siegfried Sassoon after seeing the movie Benediction than before.

The apparent sadness of Siegfried Sassoon's later life is portrayed by Peter Capaldi as the aged and bitter Siegfried who after marrying Hester Gatty in 1933 ( in reality 2O years his junior) rages at his son and friends this to me seemed at odds with his younger self. Perhaps I'm reading more into it but I wondered if Terence Davies was transferring some of his own regret about his own sexuality into the character by depicting a sad closeted existence?.

The elder Hester is played by the wonderful Gemma Jones and she also is a reflection of a sad marriage .

These facts about Siegfried Sassoon's last years depicted in Terence Davies film are at odds with the truth as Siegfried and Hester separated in 1945 after 12 years of marriage when Siegfried was unable to find a compromise between the "companionship " and solitude he craved.

Their son George Sassoon( 1936 -2006) became a scientist and linguist ,and author and was adored by Siegfried,who wrote several poems addressed to his son.

This information just made me think while this movie is well crafted and interesting that it's missing the true character of its subject Siegfried Sassoon.

Gently bitter and nostalgic... and dated

[onefineday36 · 6/10 · 25 June 2022]

Here's a lot of old fashioned Britishness we love. Repressed emotions hidden behind immaculate manner and only expressed through biting witty comments and classy bitching. But having partially lived in and experienced modern UK (or let's just say London, that is a world of its own) for over a decade now, it's the world that's almost gone... unless for such rare moments brought back by the dying breed as Terence Davies.

In that sense, the whole film is definitely sentimental, nostalgic... and gently bitter (as oppose to bitter sweet). Even the scenes of horror from WW1 are somewhat veiled with distinctively old fashioned verses of Siegfried Sassoon. For some reason most scenes with special effects (the scene where Siegfried dropping his medal being most noteworthy) feel so dated too, as in 90's film or a student project of SiFi.

My biggest issue in enjoying the film was that I gradually lost empathy with Siegfried. He starts off as gentle, smart young man, restrained but with lucid enough self-awareness and noble idealism of a youth. Then he dips in relationships with pretty but frivolous guys, predictably gets hurt by them, and then opts for a more conventional life of marriage and child in the selfish hope that the wife and son may give him the light he craves for. And then he ends up a bitter, distant, irritable and irritating old man, who vents out to his poor wife and suffering son, practically the only people left around, for their failure to become the light he wanted them to be.

Now, it's not entirely his fault alone. The horror of the war that scarred him for life and the intolerant society that kept him from acting upon his true love have a lot to answer for. Even his shallow, egoistic post-war lovers are largely because such bold 'crazy' ones were the only people who could live somewhat openly as gay in the repressive British society.

Nevertheless Siegfried had so many privileges - his uppercrust background, artistic talent, social recognition, and few but supportive friends. Despite of it all, he makes choices against his own truth and heart, and ends up a bitter resentful old man. His last ditch attempt to God wouldn't give him the solace he craves for.

I guess that is actually the message of the film - how giving up one's true heart and truth, whether by one's own will or circumstances, can leave one just a shell of oneself. And what's the worth of a poet when he can't speak his truth?

Overall it left me somewhat unsatisfied after 2 hours of run despite of its many enjoyable and charming virtues. I suspect Terence Davies himself has never quite overcome the pessimistic view he manifested in his early trilogy.

indulgent languid catty

[manschelde-1 · 24 May 2022]

Benediction.

This long film is possibly better suited for TV viewing, so for UK viewers I expect to see it on BBC TV because BBC-Films was one of the funding sources. Despite that, I'm pleased to have seen it at the almost empty cinema if only for the better focus there with no distractions of home.

I liked this more than I was expecting, which possibly says more about me than the film.

It's a surprise to me that this film got made, especially in these pandemic times, as it is quite indulgent, languid and would appeal to a possibly limited segment of cinema goers.

It is not a biography of Sassoon, as there's no mention of his father, his father's early death, the bequest from his aunt, or Heytesbury, or his death etc.

Instead it is an absorbing slightly mesmeric collage of catty dialogue, music, poetry and grainy WW1 footage and still photography artfully assembled into a tale of searching for redemption and the angst for help to deal with the past, which presumably explains the title.

The initial early transition between actors (young Siegfried and old Siegfried) could have been better handled as at least one later transition of another character was clearly done. Peter Capaldi is fabulously haunted in the role of old Siegfried, though with a clipped accent to mask the rich Scottish tones underneath. The always watchable Geraldine James appears briefly as mother.

Jeremy Irvine is devilish as Ivor Novello. Calam Lynch is acidic as young Stephen Tennant. Jack Lowden is reasonable as young Siegfried.

The first of the song choices seemed anachronistic, as the backing for grainy WW-1 footage. But this is a minor detail.

Overall: best for TV maybe, 7/10.

Enjoyable but..

[hillww · 7/10 · 20 May 2022]

It was very enjoyable, especially on the challenges of being a survivor after WW1 when so many friends and comrades were lost. The period and values were well recreated with excellent performances.

However the later scenes seem to play rather loose with the facts, suggesting he ended up in a semi in the suburbs still married with a stay at home son. Not according to Wikipedia!

One can appreciate Sassoon's poetry and the loaded trivia that TE Lawrence was his friend

[JuguAbraham · 6/10 · 15 June 2022]

"Many live for the moment, you live for the eternity" British poet Siegfried Sassoon's son to his father in his final days--as the poet continues to bemoan the dead soldiers of of WWI who died for a cause that had changed from what it was when they enlisted. Thanks to Terrence Davies' film I have come to appreciate Sassoon's poetry. As a film, I prefer the comparable film "Under Milkwood" on the life and poetry of Dylan Thomas. A trivial highlight of the film: T E Lawrence (a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia) attending the very private wedding of Sassoon! Though mentioned briefly as an admirer of the poet Sassoon, Noel Coward never gets shown in the film. Some aspects of the screenplay are very impressive, while some are not (switching back and forth in time, needlessly, those relating to one of Sassoon's many gay paramours).

Ignore the naysayers...this is a beautiful, deeply poetic, ethereal masterpiece...

[GrigoryGirl · 10/10 · 24 June 2022]

Ignore the naysayers. This is a beautiful, deeply sad, elegant, and poetic film from one of the greatest filmmakers working today, Terence Davies. Many here are dismissing this film as "catty", "stereotypical", etc. It's not in the least. It's a film based on the life of Siegfried Sassoon, a real UK poet who served in WW1 with Wilfred Owen, the brilliant soldier who wrote the poetry that was the basis for Benjamin Britten's magnificent War Requiem and who was a friend/lover of Sassoon. Sasson was a poet himself, an artist, and like all artists, felt alienated throughout his life from the world he lived in. We see that art world from behind the curtain, and anyone who has ever worked, or been privvy to, the behind the scenes of the artistic world will attest this is how it is. This is the huge source of Sassoon's "alienation", not just that he's a homosexual, which many reviewers are insisting. There's a wonderful line that sums him up perfectly, and that is "most people live in the moment. You want to live in eternity". That's a beautiful, poetic summation not only of Sassoon's life, but of art in general. Davies's films often draw on art for their inspiration, and this one is no exception.

All of the performances are 1st rate, the cinematography is exquisite, the production design is breath taking, and the dialogue is some of the best I've heard in a film in a very, very long time. Thanks to Mr. Terence Davies for making such an extraordinary movie.

Lacking a heartbeat

[bridgetcastle · 6/10 · 26 May 2022]

Had expectations for this but not fulfilled - too many long drawn out pauses meant the film never had a heartbeat. Good (but not great) performances - and mixed up sequences that didn't make sense...

Genius

[justintannerpw1 · 10/10 · 4 June 2022]

I'll be writing a review for Art Report Today so I just wanted to say: this is the best film of the year so far and Davies' finest achievement. Bring the tissues, it's a weeper. And the acting is sublime.

A biopic swimming in stereotypes

[rschwarz07 · 6/10 · 26 March 2023]

A very well executed portrayal of the elitist culture of British high society in the aftermath of WWI on technical and artistic levels. However, through the austere use of language, sets and locations, I can't help but hold a taste more bitter than what the poetry illustrated with archival film clips so helplessly try to foil against the pompous stereotypes that films about the élite unconsciously celebrate. I think that there is a disservice done to the remembrance of the "Great War" (this adage itself being rife with contradiction) when viewed through the lives of the idle rich who had nought to do but pursue their "hobbies".

Asking the audience to relate to high society Britain in the context of what war means to them who profited most by it trivializes the true cost of war for the vast majority. This trivializing is only reflected in the exposition of the relationships of characters and how little they value one another, using each other for selfish gain.

This is a purposely sad film made sadder by the truth that runs underneath, never given the light it deserves for the sake of retaining the characters' perilous reputations and pretentious stations in life.

Moderately interesting collage

[leobardolouisrodriguez · 5/10 · 3 June 2022]

My initial reaction was, "unfocused and messy," but someone else called it a collage, and I think that is a more accurate description of the film.

It's not a biography, it's not really about war, or love, or living a closeted life during a specific period in UK history; it's not about aging; it's not about poetry, or trauma. The title suggests it might be about guidance, blessing, or redemption, but in regard to what, I can't really say.

It's also about all of those things, depending on the minute. The movie changes focus quite a few times, and I found that incredibly frustrating. After two and a half hours, I did not leave with any firmed-up impression of Sassoon, or the basic intention of the film.

Having said that, the lead actor and the rest are all perfectly enjoyable to watch, the dialogue is organic, and aside from spliced-in war footage, it is pleasing to the eye. It's a good choice for watching on demand or otherwise at home. But it's not a movie that lingers.

Elegy for lost generation.

[mick-meyers · 9/10 · 23 May 2022]

Beautifully filmed,expertly directed and the acting sublime.alost generation and a loss of one's self,in an age when love that dare not speaks its name was reviled.the interaction of the poetry and film is used to great effect.on a lighter note some of the acidic one liners would have made lady Grantham wince.

Cinema Omnivore - Benediction (2021) 6.6/10

[lasttimeisaw · 7/10 · 14 July 2022]

"Too often mired in petty quarrels and emotional limbos, Sassoon the poet eventually emerges as an opaque figure whose personality seems to be stunted by his wartime experience and the physical deterioration from Lowden to Capaldi, who plays an elderly Sassoon saddled with his insipid son George (Goulding), is too much to credit, Capaldi's gaunt, sourpuss persona is a bad casting decision. Lowden, though merely 3 years after Josie Rourke's MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (2018), it seems the bloom is off the rose already, is unable to ignite the screen but soldiers on with stamina, his best scenes are with a delicately wistful Geraldine James, who plays Sassoon's mother, faintly apprehensive of her son's entanglement with his "pretty boys"."

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What is this film about?

[nicolasroop · 4/10 · 7 June 2022]

I know it's about the main character, but the film jumps around so much that it makes it difficult to keep interest. Is it a war movie? Is it a romance film? Is it an aristocratic drama? I could not tell you because it seems to be all these things in different intervals throughout the film, and unfortunately, none of them mingle with eachother cohesively enough to blend together. There is a great film in there, it just needed more editing and a better focal point for the story. The acting is all fantastic, however the director seems to indulge in their facial expressions a bit too much. Seriously, the ending did not need a steady 5 minute shot of the main character. I get you're trying to convey the anguish he feels, but the audience already got that throughout the film. It also didn't help that the film has a serious pacing issue that makes it drag. I could recommend to the lgbt crowd, and fans of dry dramas, but in no way is this the good film it could've been. 2 affairs out of 5.

Terence Davies' aching portrait of a poet

[gortx · 15 September 2022]

Terence Davies's aching BENEDICTION is a biography based on the life of 20th Century British poet Siegfried Sassoon. Sassoon was a gay veteran of the first World War who grew embittered with England's conduct of the conflict. Post-war, he continued to write and embarked on a series of relationships - and a marriage.

Sassoon, as extremely well played by Jack Lowden, confesses that he can never act spontaneously. His stubbornness gives way to a debilitating inwardness. He is a man literally haunted by war. Whatever his achievements in his career or fleeting happiness in his liaisons, they never seem to give him true joy.

Director Davies, too, is a man of the past (he was a teen living in 60s Liverpool and despises The Beatles!). As always, he gives the material a small "c" classical point of view. BENEDICTION is an elegantly made production with suitably austere photography by Nicola Daley and is scored with existing appropriate period music. Davies' script is very much in the tradition of mid-century British theater with no shortage of witty barbs. While far too stylish to be dismissed as being too 'Masterpiece Theater', there is a certain airlessness to parts of the film. The flash-forwards to the 60s give the story some overall context, but, never truly trandscends (Peter Capaldi plays the older Sassoon).

Lowden is indeed superb here, and does as much with his face and body as he does with the dialogue - never more so than in the final scene. The supporting cast is also fine including Julian Sands, Kate Phillips, Simon Russell Beale, Geraldine James and Jeremy Irvine as a particularly oily lover. BENEDICTION is a well appointed if a bit dry entry in Davies' fine filmography.

Slow and Stately

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 10 January 2023]

A slow, stately biopic about poet Siegried Sassoon and the demons that plagued him after serving in WWI.

The movie has serious Evelyn Waugh vibes, especially "Brideshead Revisited." WWI stories always fascinate me, especially when they're about how much the war screwed up the psyches of the people who were caught up in it. This film is overall satisfying, if a bit repetitive. A huge amount of time is spent on Sassoon, a more or less openly gay man, and his various love affairs, all with caricatures of flamboyant, bitchy gay men and all of them leaving you wondering what he wanted to be around them for in the first place. Seriously, were all gay men this hateful in the 1920s? But then you think about how marginalized they were, and the answer is, well, yeah, maybe they were. They had a lot to be hateful about.

The one reason to see this movie is a big one, and that's the central performance of Jack Lowden. He's magnificent in this. Easily award worthy, though a group like the Academy Awards wouldn't recognize him in a million years.

Grade: A-

Benediction

[henry8-3 · 7/10 · 21 February 2024]

Jack Lowden plays decorated WWI soldier / war poet Siegfried Sassoon who refuses to return to the front, heavily critical of the motives for continuing to fight. He is helped in avoiding a court martial by being hospitalised so his confusion can be cured.

A glorious study of a man who reflects on his uncomfortable life and the poor choices he made. Plagued by guilt at not being in the fight, his life progresses through his analysis and his openly gay relationships and ultimately how he moves into old age, played by Peter Capaldi looking back and his relative failures.

Interestingly the largest part of what is essentially an anti war film focusses on Sassoon's failures with his gay relationship, riddled entirely with long scenes of acid oneupmanship seeing who can outwit each other with increasingly snide bitchiness - to me this went on too long and for no obvious reason. The performances by a terrific British cast are universally excellent with Lowden holding his own in the lead, right up to a very touching final scene. Overall, well acted and really quite moving.

Poet Siegfried Sassoon loses in war and life

[maurice_yacowar · 10/10 · 5 June 2022]

In this brilliant biopic of British poet Siegfried Sassoon several Sassoon poems are read over landscapes and war scenes.

But the key poem is Wilfred Owen's "Disabled." It appears twice. At his first reading Sassoon finds it a brilliant advance from Owen's earlier derivativeness. Here for the first time the poet finds his voice, his independence, his self-assertion and emotional freedom. But we hear it only near film's end, amid the aged Sassoon's looking back in remorse at a life marked by loss and his emotional paralysis.

The title points to the film's two central wars and their respective costs in humanity. The literal war is WW I. There Sassoon fought valiantly, then courageously campaigned against its unscrupulous and disastrous continuation. We see a range of the war's consequent disability, physical, emotional and psychological.

The second war is the homosexual's campaign to survive in a bigoted cruel world. Owen and Sassoon were both "disabled" by the war, Owen killed and Sassoon robbed of emotional fulfilment. Owen was Sassoon's one great love. Because their's was "the love that dare not speak its name" the two ardent poets' sole physical exchange is the stiff handshake when Owen marches off to death. Sassoon never recovers from Owen's loss.

With his usual eye - and heart - for the oppressed sensitive, director Terence Davies conveys the gay characters' sentence to emotional crippling. That's the second form of disability in these wars. When Sassoon is interviewed by the army counselor - who himself admits to being gay; "I trust you will be discreet" - they are shown primarily in alternating one-shots, defining the isolation imposed upon the forbiddenly compatible.

Unable to fulfill his romantic nature Sassoon drifts into trivial affairs, with shallow rewards while they work and profound loss when they don't. The successful poet is condemned to a failed emotional life.

Sassoon's retreat into conventional marriage only spreads his damage, the corollary costs of that war. We see the consequences of Sassoon's frustration in his wife, when the ebullient Kate Phillips turns into the haggard Gemma Jones. The son is his own frustrated loner, of uncertain sexuality and stunted emotional connection. Sassoon's desperate retreat into "normalcy" destroys his nearest as well as himself. That's the point of the song cited from Stop the World I want to Get Off - a piquant satire of the "typically English." The doubled shadow of Owen's "Disabilities" hangs over the film and Sassoon's sad, sad life until the poem is finally heard. The film is truly a Benediction because it bestows upon the dead - and the living who remain with us - the blessing of acceptance and understanding that they were denied in life.

A brave & laudable attempt to swim against the populist tide

[keithfmanaton · 10/10 · 19 May 2023]

Any film that has the slightest gay content is going to bring the bigots out of the wood work, whether the psycho intellectuals or the simply thugs. Hence the courage of Netflix and any actor who subsequently takes on the job has to be admired. Especially with the reach of social media these days. This is also a gritty and sometime uncomfortable watch and so it should be. Soldiers challenging the status quo, especially in English elites who conspired to start he war and then managed it so badly. The elites & sub aristocrats were also rewarded for the slaughter and agony they caused, and for accelerating the British Empires decline in the process. A parody of the last ten years on that island, which has at last finished it off. Of course they were proved right but now their words are used in far right 'nationalistic' rants and the anti-war anti-fascist meanings have been patriot washed.

Interesting topic -- poorly directed

[Minnesota_Reid · 3/10 · 16 May 2022]

The once-great director Terence Davies fails to pull it together for this overlong, meandering story of gay World War I poet Siegfried Sassoon. The story lumbers on and on and on -- and then is further padded out with scenes from a church service and some unneeded songs. There are several poems as well, but, hey, it is a movie about a poet.

Late in the film, we transition to other actors playing old Siegfried. There was absolutely no feeling of character continuity between young and old Siegfried (Peter Capaldi), nor young and old Stephen (Anton Lesser).

The performances all were fine and the production values were high. The problems lay entirely with Davies.

The most interesting stretch is in the shell-shock (PTSD) hospital with fellow gay World War I poet Wilfred Owen. But even this was covered more cohesively in the 1997 movie 'Regeneration' (aka 'Behind the Lines'), also about Sassoon and Owen. (And then there's 'Hedd Wynn' if you want a really fine move about yet another gay World War I poet!)

The final poem was, to my unpoetical ears, by far the best. Ironically, it was one by Owen, not Sassoon. Maybe a movie about Owen might have been more the ticket. At least it could not have been so long as 'Benediction'!

Heartfelt

[Eleatic67 · 8/10 · 27 December 2022]

Davies is a masterful filmmaker. He has stated that he is not a "Gay" filmmaker in the way that, possibly, Jarman was. I think this is generally true. Davies seems more concerned with individual struggle and self-expression than homosexual rights. His period films recall a time when individuals created and asserted their identity in opposition to social conformity. While he emphasizes the personal and the private sphere of experience, he also recognizes how these can transform society. A Quiet Passion, Sunset Song, and Benediction are about people revolting in very unique ways. The performances and control of other elements are subtle, complex, and always interesting.

A truly missed opportunity

[louis-196 · 1/10 · 13 August 2022]

A few years ago I read the authoritative and excellent biography of Siegfried Sassoon by Jean Moorcroft Wilson. It is quite clear to me having watched this film that the writer and cast have probably never been further than a Wikipedia entry in understanding the man. I get it that Sassoon was a homosexual, indeed Moorcroft Wilson explores this in her biography but it is far from the most defining aspect of his life. I get it, that this film is worship at the altar of LBGTQ+ history but this is at the expense of learning some interesting, almost incredible, facts about Siegfried Sassoon.

For example, what of his life as a 'fox hunting' man? What of the extraordinary coincidence of both Sassoon and Robert Graves (who barely gets a mention) serving together in the Welsh Fusiliers at the Somme and of their important friendship (Sassoon supported Graves financially several times after the war)? Or his equally important friendship with T E Lawrence (a truly remarkable man who is delegated in the film to a bit part of Sassoon's wedding)? Yes, we see some of his relationship with Wilfred Owen but we do not learn that Graves, Owen and Sassoon were all at Craiglockhart at the same time - Graves despatched there to try and persuade his friend Sassoon to drop his opposition to the war.

We do not learn that Sassoon was known as 'Mad Jack' to his contemporaries on the Western Front and his bravura included leading trench raids despite confessing to being terrified at doing so.

We do not even learn the origins of his extraordinary name, or why in the casting his mother doesn't share his last name.

My greatest sadness is that there is a definite need for a truly authoritative biopic (if I can use that word) of Sassoon and this not it. Yes, if you want to wallow in the calumny of how gay men were treated until recently, this is it. Burn with indignation, if you must. Clearly the writer and director had only one thesis in this film and all 2+ hours of it are imbued with it.

But what a waste of a non-gay actor (think about the hypocrisy of the casting) like Jack Lowden, camping it up in order to project the makers opinions rather than the historical fact.

Add to this, that the film moves as slowly as syrup dripping down the side of a can and frankly, you should spend your time and money on any of the good biographies about the man because you will learn very little of the real Siegfried Sassoon by viewing this film.

Mixture of military, true story, and gay romance

[trinaboice · 8/10 · 21 June 2022]

IN A NUTSHELL: This melodramatic story is about legendary 20th Century war poet Siegfried Sassoon's life-long quest for personal salvation through his experiences with family, war, his writing, and destructive relationships go unresolved, never realizing it can only come from within. Hopefully, viewers will see the story as a cautionary tale and learn from his mistakes about life.

This beautifully introspective film was written and directed by Terence Davies.

THINGS I LIKED: I loved hearing the sensitive poetry of Siegfried Sassoon while watching his life experience unfold which inspired his writing. If you're unfamiliar with the poet, you'll certainly receive an introduction through this movie. There is an incredible sadness and melancholy to the movie.

The talented cast includes Tom Blyth, Kate Phillips, Jack Lowden, Jeremy Irvine, Ben Daniels Julian Sands, and Peter Capaldi among many others whose acting is fantastic.

I thought it was very interesting to combine old footage from World War I with the new footage of the film. It almost feels like a dramatic documentary.

Filming was done in Willenhall near Wolverhampton, England.

In the movie, we learn interesting trivia about the poet's life. For example, we learn that T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) was a fan of Siegfried Sassoon and even attended his wedding.

Lovely musical score.

The dialogue is entertaining, insightful, and inspiring.

Some of the transitions in Act 3 are fantastic. Others in Acts 1 & 2 cut too abruptly.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Sadly, the audience for this film may be somewhat limited, as it is very British, bloated, and eloquent with elevated dialogue.

The film starts with its focus on the war and military actions, and then the tone turns more into a gay romance. Because of the flip-flopping, the tone seems to constantly change.

There are several unnecessary scenes I would immediately cut to shorten the film. For example, there are some church and singing scenes that don't particularly add much.

The timeline jumps around a bit, which might confuse viewers.

It's sad to hear people talk so cruelly to each other.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Children and some adults will be extremely bored.

There is a lot of disturbing and real WWI footage and photography that shows dead bodies.

Lots of talk about homosexuality, as the poet Siegfried Sassoon was gay. You see men kiss, dance, and tumble in bed.

Psychiatric patients are heard and seen screaming.

THEMES: Truth Loyalty Personal honor War Yearning for what's been lost PTSD Writing and poetry Redemption Narcissism Talent Introspection Relationships Marriage and infidelity

An anti-war biopic of Siegfried Sassoon

[steiner-sam · 8/10 · 17 June 2022]

It's an anti-war biopic of the English poet Siegfried Sassoon that covers Sassoon's life from 1914 to the 1960s.

Siegfried Sassoon (Jack Lowden/Peter Capaldi) was a Second Lieutenant during World War I. His younger brother, Hamo (Thom Ashley), is killed during the war. Siegfried is further horrified by the tremendous human toll in death and lifelong disability caused by military leadership in which he no longer believes. Already a well-known poet, he refuses further participation in the war and is sent to the Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh technically for shell shock. There Siegfried meets and befriends Wilfred Owen (Matthew Tennyson), a much younger man. Siegfried also explicitly recognizes his own homosexuality.

The film then follows his anti-war sensibilities through snippets of his poetry and his chaotic love life, mainly focused on Ivor Novello (Jeremy Irvine) and Stephen Tennant (Calam Lynch/Anton Lesser). At a certain point, he tries to escape the chaos by marrying Hester Gatty (Kate Phillips/Gemma Jones). Together they have a son. George (Richard Goulding), but clearly, the marriage does not heal Sassoon's memories.

The film uses footage from the trenches in World War I and occasionally flips in time between the young Sassoon and the elderly Sassoon. Some of the editing decisions made little sense to me, particularly the early scene forecasting his conversion to Catholicism. Some edits made the film more complex than necessary. Nevertheless, the movie successfully portrays Sassoon as disabled because of World War I, from which he never psychologically recovered. This is clear from the multiple references to Wilfred Owens' poem, "Disabled."

What a mess of a movie.

[charlesgarnerlester · 3/10 · 15 August 2022]

As a gay man, I always enjoy movies that show how difficult gay men had it "back in the day." This movie, however, was just a mess. The story line was all over the place, the characters irredeemable, and not well thought out, all around. The showed moved all over the place, in reference to time frames (which movies love doing these days, but this one didn't do it well, at all). The movie went from acting to poetry to singing to showing random pictures of WWI while reading poetry. There were parts I really enjoyed, but for the most part it was just disappointing.