Benediction

Name: Benediction
Genre: Biography, Drama, War
Released: June 3, 2022
Duration: 137 min
Rating: 81
Cast: Anton Lesser, Ben Daniels, Calam Lynch, Gemma Jones, Geraldine James

2022

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Ratings

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6.9

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6.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Ratings

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Benediction

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Movie Details & Credits

Roadside Attractions | Release Date: June 3, 2022 | Not Rated

Starring: Anton Lesser, Ben Daniels, Calam Lynch, Gemma Jones, Geraldine James, Harry Lawtey, Jack Lowden, Jeremy Irvine, Joanna Bacon, Julian Sands, Kate Phillips, Kellie Shirley, Lia Williams, Paddy Rowan, Peter Capaldi, Simon Russell Beale, Tom Blyth

Summary: Benediction explores the turbulent life of WWI poet Siegfried Sassoon (Jack Lowden). The writer and soldier was a complex man who survived the horrors of fighting in the First World War and was decorated for his bravery but who became a vocal critic of the government’s continuation of the war when he returned from service. His poetry wasBenediction explores the turbulent life of WWI poet Siegfried Sassoon (Jack Lowden). The writer and soldier was a complex man who survived the horrors of fighting in the First World War and was decorated for his bravery but who became a vocal critic of the government’s continuation of the war when he returned from service. His poetry was inspired by his experiences on the Western Front, and he became one of the leading war poets of the era. 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.
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Director: Terence Davies

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, War

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 137 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Rex Reed

Jun 8, 2022

Beautifully designed and photographed, sensitively written and directed by England’s acclaimed Terence Davies, and impeccably acted by a distinguished cast that turns life into art, Benediction is one gorgeous motion picture. Read full review

100

Adam Woodward

May 20, 2022

Owen wrote several other poems about the horrors of war before his untimely death in 1920, and there is one which Davies does not feature here whose title nonetheless captures the mournful spirit of his film. It’s called ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’. Read full review

Richard Brody

Jun 1, 2022

The film brings the past to life with a vividness and an immediacy that seem wrenched from Davies’s very soul. Read full review

Empire A.A. Dowd

May 17, 2022

Benediction finds both sorrow and hilariously withering wit in the eventful  life of a famed wartime poet, offering some of the sharpest, nimblest dialogue of writer-director Terence Davies’ estimable career. Read full review

Steve Davis

Jun 1, 2022

Less adventurous in structure than many in Davies’ oeuvre, Benediction is both expressionistic and vivid in recounting selected particulars of an outwardly fascinating life, though something feels missing in the totality of things. Read full review

Kate Taylor

Sep 13, 2021

The dialogue is quietly scathing, and the production values are sumptuous. But Davies seems most interested in Sassoon as a symbol of hemmed-in Englishness. As a character, he remains poetically opaque. Read full review

Kyle Smith

Jun 14, 2022

Mr. Davies’s wit is admirable, but his structure is nonexistent. He devises no problem to be solved, no goal to be met, no riddle to be answered. Occasionally we hear bits of Sassoon’s beautiful war poetry in voiceover, but it is irrelevant to most of the action. Read full review

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User Reviews

n8cv1996

Jun 8, 2022

I would like to give it a 6 — but only for these four reasons: I lack the historic appreciation for British cultural pleasantries; I never knew the poet Siegfried Sassoon before this movie; I do not personally relate with the struggle of homosexuality (while I can appreciate the struggle ofI would like to give it a 6 — but only for these four reasons: I lack the historic appreciation for British cultural pleasantries; I never knew the poet Siegfried Sassoon before this movie; I do not personally relate with the struggle of homosexuality (while I can appreciate the struggle of it); and I’m not accustomed to frequent, long, “static shot” scenes [meaning the camera doesn’t move]. Analyzing the movie beyond my lens, I give the movie a 74/100. Read on to learn why [with no spoilers in my review].

The script oscillated from an 8-9 to a 5-6 — a mix of occasional great intellectual poetry and dialogue, to casual and ordinary dialogue that was acted well, but very ordinary. I would say the script consisted of more ordinary script than I liked, but the smart and charming parts of the script + a beer in my hand kept me in the theater. The acting was well done and suited the situations, save for a few instances; overall I give the acting an 8-9.

The movie did a fine job conveying the life and struggles of Siegfried Sassoon in both realistic and artistic fashions. There are lessons in the movie that I think everyone can learn from. The artistic portrayal of war was abstract in its attempt, but fairly basic in its execution; its execution was that of a novice filmmaker.

Overall, if I were a British grandma or an elderly gay man who saw this movie pop up on TV, on BBC, I would watch this movie in full without any problem. Maybe this movie would appeal more to mid-life and young gay folks than mid-life and young heterosexuals, though the younger audience might overall opt for other cinema. Lastly, one doesn’t have to be British to like the movie but it probably helps.… Expand

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All_ButTrU4

Jul 27, 2022

5.9/10
Sassoon was an unexpected man in his periods time: a decorated soilder who alongside being anti-war was an esteemed poet and homosexual. Him and his dalliances create the foundation for a rich semi biographical story which unfortunately this is not. This movie tries to get alot in at5.9/10
Sassoon was an unexpected man in his periods time: a decorated soilder who alongside being anti-war was an esteemed poet and homosexual. Him and his dalliances create the foundation for a rich semi biographical story which unfortunately this is not. This movie tries to get alot in at at once which boats & muddies the entire film . The decision to begin with a black & white slide show of the war is understandable but doesn't justify how long it stays for. The leads subtle varied performance does litte to distract from just how anticlimactic everything really is here,they never make or let you care for anyone. On the brightside the costume design, cinematography and period accuracy is on point (the latter only to a small extent)but even so it's good enough to not spoil the movie too much… Expand

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