Benediction (12A)

Storyline

Critic Mark Kermode has called Terence Davies “the poet of British cinema.” and Benediction shows how fitting that accolade is. Benediction follows the conflicted episodes in the troubled life of Siegfried Sassoon, a poet and socialite; a war hero and later a pacifist. However, Davies film eschews the cliches of a standard Hollywood bio-pic.  It aims for something much more visually original and more profoundly personal. The LA Times review suggested that Benediction offers “acute sadness and intense pleasure.” And it is right on both counts. Running time: 137 minutes