Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Writer/director: Terence Davies, Rialto Film Distribution.
Through the eyes of the well-regarded filmmaker Terence Davies (Distant Voices, Still Lives, The House of Mirth), we get the opportunity to get an insight into the story of English poet, writer and soldier Siegfried Sassoon.
Sassoon, who was decorated for his bravery, was a complex man who survived the horrors of fighting in World War I. However, after he returned from service
he became a vocal critic of the government’s continuation of the war.
Benediction explores Sassoon’s troubled life as we learn about how his poetry was inspired by his experiences on the Western Front. He became one of the leading war poets of the era.
Born in 1886, Sassoon read history at Cambridge, but soon took to writing, particularly poetry. Adored by members of the aristocracy as well as stars of London’s literary and stage world, he embarked on affairs with several men as he attempted to come to terms with his homosexuality. At the same time, broken by the horror of war, he made his life’s journey a quest for salvation, trying to find it within the conformity of marriage and religion. His story is one of a troubled man in a fractured world searching for peace and self-acceptance.
Jack Lowden (Dunkirk, A United Kingdom) takes on the complex role of the legendary war poet and anti-war activist, providing another significant benchmark in his impressive career. Kate Phillips (Wolf Hall, The Crown, Downton Abbey) plays Sassoon’s wife Hester Gatty, who is portrayed in later years by Gemma Jones, (a regular presence in the Harry Potter and Bridget Jones films).
Geraldine James (The Jewel in the Crown) is cast as Sassoon’s mother Theresa, who was a formidable artist in her own right. Calam Lynch (Netflix’s Bridgerton) appears as the outrageous socialite Stephen Tennant, who had a lengthy affair with Sassoon after the war years. Jeremy Irvine (War Horse, Great Expectations) takes the role of Ivor Novello, the famed composer, actor and matinee idol – who was also part of Sassoon’s glamorous social circle.
- Benediction is in cinemas on 9 June
