Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: BENEDICTION [Toronto International Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]

Modes of identity depend on time and the person. While "Benediction" [Special Presentations], written and directed by Terence Davies, is a modulation on country, war and love through the eyes of poet Siegfried Sassoon in the days during and after World War I, it becomes at times more a relegation of seeing the pettiness through which any part of society approaches and what the ideal is, even hidden in certain times. The essence of love or wanting to be loved in the face of betrayal or perhaps death is a sum of experiences and depends on the personality and who they surround themselves with. The younger version of Sassoon as played Jack Lowden is exceptionally bright but not against threatening authority despite a secret he keeps hidden from the mainstream world. But he is not untoward about his passions and his opinions though they are insulated. Different people mold his perceptions which brings him to the older version in Peter Capaldi. The reasons for his dark reflections are interesting and might be true to life but it depends on the person (and here optimism turned to regret is his choice, as a matter of consequence). Louis Wain, as a comparison, who also has a biopic of sorts at the fest, comes off as a more optimistic even in the face of even more tragedy so it is one of circumstance, whether heterosexual, homosexual or beyond.

Many people have that effect on Siegfried but interesting enough it is Ivar, a "homme fatale" as he is called in the notes, who has the most seismic repercussions because he doesn't compromise (perhaps because of power) and lives life as he wants, people's perceptions (or even laws seemingly) be damned. On the reverse end is Hester (played by Kate Phillips, who also was in the adaptation of "War & Peace" with Lowden) who again is trapped by herself, maybe more so than that Sassoon (but again that is a repercussion of the repression in which the film is set). It however shows the essence of conformation and that it can create more problems just as much as revolt can. The ideal though is a commonplace ground because human nature is what it is. The more it changes, the more it stays the same. It mutates but it is about passing on lessons to the next generation because not everyone gets that choice. The last shot is poignant in that it explains in the visage of war (which despite Siegfried's relationships and drama) seems to be the rallying point of his ideals and life. The issue is that his personal issues, even in his mind, seems frivolous compared to the horrors of war so seeing his hurt at the consequences to his fellow man in his eyes, though compassionate, can come off as empty at times. C

By Tim Wassberg