Title: Benediction
Year: 2021
Director: Terrence Davies
Country: UK
Language: English
World War One was a horrific war where men left their comfortable homes & often died, not from wounds of war, but from malnutrition and disease. The many who did not die were left with painful memories that permeated their dreams & transformed their mental health in very damaging, disfiguring ways. Benediction is very much about the scars and turmoil left from a world that felt more shattered than ever before.
Benediction is based on the life of English poet Siegfried Sassoon, who achieved renown as a poet via impassioned anti-war verses that landed him in a military psychiatric hospital; later, he emerged from the closet to live with unusual openness as a gay man.
The film spans three stages of Sassoon's life, weaving in and out of different stages of youth and old age in attempt to find meaning in his lost world. The result is a film full of anguish, despair, lost love and longing. Sassoon consistently reaches into the void, trying to make sense of his emotions and place in the grand scheme of things. Though flawed in its script, it is a breathtaking poetic vision that will stick with you for quite some time.
Bursting with mid century flavor, Benediction has a marvelous eye for set design, costuming & décor. Combined with exquisite cinematography & a rich score, it is fairly easy to be transported to a world that is far removed from 2021. Jack Lowden does a tremendous job at playing a young Sassoon; the urgency to find meaning that he gives his character can be felt through the screen.
I found myself quite taken by Benediction. Some audience members may not like how brooding & bittersweet the film is, but I found great meaning & was transformed by the story's core theme of finding oneself. I do think the film may be a bit too long, but I have a great desire to view it again.
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