MARIA DUARTE is swept along by the cocky self-belief of a ping-pong hustler in a surprisingly violent drama
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Film of the Week: Benediction
MARIA DUARTE recommends a touching biopic of poet Siegfried Sassoon, whose life was forever changed by the horrors of the first world war
Terence Davies explores the complex life of World War I poet Siegfried Sassoon, played by Jack Lowden (right)
STEVE ANDREW recommends a lively and often moving guide to once vibrant spaces that have been abandoned or swept away
GEOFF BOTTOMS appreciates the local touch brought to a production of Dickens’s perennial classic
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a production whose design and cartoonish acting overwhelms the close scrutiny of characters
SUSAN DARLINGTON enjoys the raucous familiarity of a traditional topsy-turvy pantomime
RON JACOBS introduces the latest novel by the best writer of US working-class fiction writing today
Benediction (12A)
Directed by Terence Davies
REVERED filmmaker Terence Davies examines the turbulent life of first world war poet Siegfried Sassoon, who became renowned for his poetry outlining the horrors of the war and his affairs with other men, in this visually compelling yet profoundly affecting drama.
Jack Lowden gives a powerfully understated yet wonderfully nuanced performance as the young, troubled Sassoon, who returns home from service a decorated hero but acutely critical of the government for prolonging the war for its own ends.
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