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.
