75
The comedy in Benediction is like a spoonful of sugar before Davies brings in the medicine.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
83
This is a film that trembles with a need for redemption that never comes, and the urgency of that search is palpable enough that you can feel it first-hand, even if Benediction is never particularly clear about the nature of the redemption it’s hoping to find.
70
The Hollywood Reporter by David Rooney
This biographical drama, grounded in the anguished poetry of its protagonist, is hushed and decorous to a fault. But it does eventually wind its way to a profoundly affecting conclusion.
67
The Playlist by Gregory Ellwood
Despite Davis’ lyrical direction, the obvious gaps in the screenplay provide too many holes for what strives to be a definitive portrait of an exceptional talent.
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Kate Taylor
The dialogue is quietly scathing, and the production values are sumptuous. But Davies seems most interested in Sassoon as a symbol of hemmed-in Englishness. As a character, he remains poetically opaque.
80
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
Benediction is not an easy experience and some of the caustic, brittle dialogue scenes with Sassoon’s celebrity acquaintances are grating – yet deliberately so. The sadness is overwhelming.
70
It’s an elegant piece of filmmaking, if a little too decorous at times.