Following a successful launch at last October's BFI London Film Festival, Terence Davies' thoughtful look at the life of poet and soldier Siegfried Sassoon is headed to cinemas. We have an exclusive look at the first trailer for the film.
Written and directed by Davies, the biopic explores the turbulent life of World War I poet Sassoon. The writer and soldier was a complex man who survived the horrors of fighting in the catastrophic conflict and was decorated for his bravery, but who became a vocal critic of the government’s continuation of the war when he returned from service.
His poetry was inspired by his experiences on the Western Front, and he became one of the leading war poets of the era. Adored by members of the aristocracy as well as stars of London’s literary and stage world, he embarked on affairs with several men as he attempted to come to terms with his homosexuality. At the same time, broken by the horror of war, he made his life’s journey a quest for salvation, trying to find it within the conformity of marriage and religion.
The film stars Jack Lowden and Peter Capaldi, playing Sassoon at different times in his life. Also in the cast are Jeremy Irvine, Geraldine James, Kate Phillips, Julian Sands, Ben Daniels and Gemma Jones.
Benediction will be released this Spring in UK and Irish cinemas.