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IMDbPro

Benediction

  • 20212021
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 17m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,990
311
Jack Lowden in Benediction (2021)
Explores the turbulent life of WWI poet Siegfried Sassoon. 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.
Play trailer2:10
3 Videos
66 Photos
BiographyDramaHistory
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 goes unresolve... Read allLegendary 20th Century war poet Siegfried Sassoon's life-long quest for personal salvation through his experiences with family, war, his writing, and destructive relationships goes unresolved, never realizing it can only come from within.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 goes unresolved, never realizing it can only come from within.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,990
311
    • Terence Davies
    • Terence Davies
  • Stars
    • Jack Lowden
    • Thom Ashley
    • Orlando Jopling
    • Terence Davies
    • Terence Davies
  • Stars
    • Jack Lowden
    • Thom Ashley
    • Orlando Jopling
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 39User reviews
    • 77Critic reviews
    • 81Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos3

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:10
    Watch Official Trailer
    International Trailer
    Trailer 2:10
    Watch International Trailer
    Benediction
    Trailer 2:10
    Watch Benediction

    Photos66

    Benediction (2021)
    Jack Lowden in Benediction (2021)
    Tom Blyth in Benediction (2021)
    Simon Russell Beale and Jack Lowden in Benediction (2021)
    Jack Lowden in Benediction (2021)
    Jack Lowden in Benediction (2021)
    Benediction (2021)
    Peter Capaldi and Richard Goulding in Benediction (2021)
    Jack Lowden in Benediction (2021)
    Julian Sands in Benediction (2021)
    Jack Lowden in Benediction (2021)
    Ben Daniels in Benediction (2021)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jack Lowden
    Jack Lowden
    • Siegfried Sassoon
    Thom Ashley
    Thom Ashley
    • Hamo Sassoon
    Orlando Jopling
    • Conductor
    Christopher Naylor
    • Tailor
    Geraldine James
    Geraldine James
    • Mother
    Simon Russell Beale
    Simon Russell Beale
    • Robbie Ross
    Peter Capaldi
    Peter Capaldi
    • Siegfried Sassoon (Older)
    Richard Goulding
    Richard Goulding
    • George Sassoon
    Jude Akuwudike
    • Priest
    Daniel Tuite
    Daniel Tuite
    • Major McCartney-Filgate
    Mark Oosterveen
    Mark Oosterveen
    • First Army Doctor
    Steven Pacey
    • Second Army Doctor
    Julian Sands
    Julian Sands
    • Chief Medical Officer
    Joyce Henderson
    • Matron
    Ben Daniels
    Ben Daniels
    • Dr. Rivers
    Matthew Tennyson
    Matthew Tennyson
    • Wilfred Owen
    Torquil Munro
    • Pianist
    Chrissy Roberts
    • Female Singer
      • Terence Davies
      • Terence Davies
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Ivor Novello (Jeremy Irvine) is shown singing his comedy song And Her Mother Came, Too. Altman's Gosford Park had Jeremy Northam playing Novello singing this very same song.
    • Goofs
      Sassoon did not discard his M.C. medal as shown in this film. He tossed away the medal's corresponding ribbon. The medal itself was inherited by Sassoon's son George.
    • Quotes

      Dr. Rivers: Why not?

      Siegfried Sassoon: Too afraid, too inhibited. Shamed by an inner corruption. Or perhaps it's simply because of... What's the phrase? "The love that dare not speak its name."

      Dr. Rivers: You are not alone in that respect.

    User reviews39

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    indulgent languid catty
    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.
    helpful•25
    7
    • manschelde-1
    • May 24, 2022

    Details

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    • Release date
      • December 23, 2021 (Australia)
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Benedictionfilm
      • Official site (United Kingdom)
      • English
      • French
      • German
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Chillington Hall, Port Lane, Brewood, Wolverhampton WV8 1RE, United Kingdom
    • Production companies
      • British Film Institute (BFI)
      • The National Lottery
      • BBC Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 17 minutes
      • Color
      • Stereo

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