Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
Director
Simon Amstell
Cast
Colin Morgan,
Phénix Brossard,
Joel Fry,
Jessica Raine,
Jack Rowan,
Anna Chancellor
Genre
Comedy,
Drama,
Romance
In this tender, bittersweet comedy, a rising young filmmaker is plunged into emotional turmoil by a burgeoning romance and the pressures and uncertainty that come with the upcoming premiere of his second feature. The jokes are brutal and laugh-out-loud funny, and the film balances this with a heartfelt, character driven story.
Film Threat
The story is feather-light, but the pain, either felt or indirectly caused by Benjamin, can be harrowingly authentic. We want to simultaneously hug him for reassurance and physically restrain him to keep from the next nerve-induced verbal volcano.
The Observer (UK) by Simran Hans
The jokes are brutal and very funny, with Benjamin the butt of most of them.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
Amstell creates a detailed ecosystem of in-jokes from the worlds of media and film, and from that cynical context he conjures a miraculously heartfelt love story, sweet and poignant in all its awkwardness.
Empire by Ian Freer
Part film industry satire, part winning love story, Benjamin is low-key and shambling but emerges funny, bittersweet and affecting.
Film Threat by Rob Rector
The story is feather-light, but the pain, either felt or indirectly caused by Benjamin, can be harrowingly authentic. We want to simultaneously hug him for reassurance and physically restrain him to keep from the next nerve-induced verbal volcano.
Movie Nation by Roger Moore
Benjamin is a brief, brisk movie that somehow manages to squeeze in seven characters of consequence, tell an amusing and romantic story, and still find the time to dip its toes into something darker.
Variety by Guy Lodge
Benjamin wrings a lot of warmly perceptive, occasionally acidic humor. The film might be termed a romantic comedy, though the will-they-won’t-they dynamic that usually powers the genre feels beside the point here.
The Irish Times by Tara Brady
Under the satire, there’s an authentic sense of emotional uncertainty.
Time Out by Anna Smith
It is an unusual mix of intense, angsty character-driven drama and laugh-out-loud jokes about the film industry. It’ll be best enjoyed by those who live in the milieu it depicts, along with fans of Amstell’s bittersweet wit – and there’s probably overlap between the two.
CineVue by John Bleasdale
Benjamin is a charming metropolitan rom-com which is ultimately too lightweight to escape the gravity of its influences.
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