Rating: ★★★★
In an interview for Benediction at TIFF, director and writer Terrence Davies says, “The reason I do period is that I don’t know anything about modern life, and I’m afraid of it…” If Davies does not understand the modern world, then Benediction is his attempt to make the modern world understand the past.
Benediction is a biopic on the British First World War poet Siegfried Sassoon. Instead of longing for Britannia or stories of war heroes, Siegfried’s poetry is about the realities of the trenches: its atrocities, horrors, and unsurvivable conditions. The film begins after Siegfreid’s time as an officer when he sends a letter declaring his Pacifism to the government. Upon receiving the incriminating letter, a friend refers him to a convalescent home in Edinburgh for treatment for PTSD. Although acclaim for Siegfried’s poetry was propelled by the war, Davies’ portrait of him moves well past his treatment in Edinburgh. In its two-hour and seventeen-minute run time, Siegfried falls in love with the wrong people, plays among the aristocracy of Britain, marries, grows old amidst a quickly modernizing world, and struggles for redemption.
Although it belongs to the beloved British genre of war film, Benediction is not comparable to its peers. There are no heroics or glorious war stories; there are no scenes set in the trenches at all. Benediction is anti-war and its focus is on the effect the war had on the young men that went to fight it. How do you carry on after the Somme? How do you return to normalcy in a changed Britain? How can you find peace of mind amidst the quickening pace of modern life? Seigfried struggles for answers.
One of the film’s strengths is its use of archive footage of the trenches in place of battle reenactments and sequences. When asked why he decided to use the footage, Davies replied that a billion pounds could not have produced a more effective or harrowing video. The use of old footage is also in line with the anti-war message: why would we think we could ever portray what these men went through effectively? Siegfried’s poetry is the only artistic description we get of the trenches, which provides not only an astute representation of battle from someone who was there but also allows for further understanding of Siegfried.
Davies’ portrayal of the past is meticulous and for two hours one feels absorbed into another era. Music is diegetic adding to the realism of the film. The absence of a score slows the pace of the film, much like the slower pace of life. Another facet of Benediction’s realism is its script. Characters in the film speak differently than the people watching them in the movie theatre. The artistic, aristocratic crowd that Seigfried was a part of were extremely well-read, educated, and cultured and you would have been able to hear that. Dialogue is what irritates Davies about most period films made today in which characters speak like people in the 21st century. He insists “You have to listen…and mimic what is gone.” The dialogue in the film is superb; each line is beautiful like poetry or music but at the same time authentic and truthful to the epoch and people these actors are playing.
Siegfried’s poetry is artfully threaded into the dialogue and essence of the film. The use of his work is essential to communicating the message and tone of the film. It is also crucial to understanding the biopics central study: Siegfried himself. At times charming and kind and others cruel and cold, Siegfried is never completely vulnerable with his peers or even the camera. But in the recital of his poetry, we can fully understand Siegfried. Jack Lowden’s delivery of the script must also be mentioned as he gives a subtly moving and powerful performance.
Another strength of Benediction which is rarely seen in other biopics is the representation of Siegfried later in life (as played by Peter Capaldi). In his later life, Siegfried is still searching for peace of mind and has become unpleasant and bitter in the process. Here, Davies puts a lot of faith into his directorial ability to instill empathy in the audience. He does not try to argue that Siegfried is not a ghastly person but instead asks us to question and understand why he has become this way.
The representation of Siegfried as an older man also allows for a study of intergenerational relationships. Siegfried and his mother are close, however, she bears heavily upon him the weight of being her only surviving son. Siegfried’s son tries to connect and empathize with his father, however, Siegfried bars any emotional connection. When observing these relationships from an outside non-linear perspective, it is easier to articulate the misunderstanding. Siegfried’s mother grew up in Victorian times as is evident from her dress, and Siegfried’s son listens to rock vinyl in 1970s London; the amount that Britain and the world changed in Siegfried’s lifetime is extraordinary. Davies’ filmography of British period pieces is revered because of his ability to impart an empathy for a Britain long forgotten to his audience. While understanding our past is difficult and as Benediction shows sometimes impossible, it is wildly important that we try. Benediction is a film about redemption and understanding. Redemption comes in the form of Siegfried’s struggle for peace of mind after the First World War and the way it changed the world. Understanding is on the part of the viewer who must give the past and the people who inhabited it a fair hearing. The past is a strange and distant place, however, in Benediction, we get the best shot possible at relating to it.
Image “Siegfried Sassoon” by Pere Ubu is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.