Benediction

[flipp525]

I wonder what happened with the novel adaptation he was working on that flipp had mentioned somewhere (probably when A Quiet Passion was being discussed) a few years back? I know projects often just don't get off the ground sometimes, or they get pushed off for years and years, but Davies is now in his late 70's and I would like a few more Davies films.

dws, Terrence has already written a full screen adaptation of Richard McCann’s Mother of Sorrows which is an absolutely stunning book that you should all read. Richard was one of my mentors and friends in grad school. Unfortunately, Richard passed away in January 2021 and I’m not sure who is operating his estate. I do remember him telling me that he and Terrence had both really liked the idea of Paul Dano playing the main character although, at this point, I’m not sure he’s the right age to play him.

It was one of Richard’s dreams for Terrence to script and direct this film so hopefully it’s still a possibility.

My latest book, Better Davis and Other Stories (2021), was dedicated to Richard’s memory.

[Sabin]

I'll agree to most of what Okri said. This is definitely one of the achievements of the year for me, for at least the first two thirds. If I have one critique of it, it's that the final third didn't quite knock me over. I understand why it was told the way that it was. Sassoon was resigned into marriage and so the last stretch when he decides to take a wife feels like a resignation. And in so doing, it loses one of the things I loved about most of the film, how it felt both youthful and wise. I'm sure there was a more dynamic way to tell that chapter of his life. But it's still a very very good film. Jack Lawson gives an extraordinary performance. There's really no reason why he shouldn't be in the Best Actor race this year (if not at the head of it), especially when they're stretching so much to pad out five slots. And I wish I saw it on the big screen, like any Davies film should be.

[dws1982]

I really hate that I wasn't able to see this in a theater. The theater in Nashville that I'll frequently drive up to only had this for a one-week-only engagement last week, and even though I am out of school and could normally go, I had agreed to work last week for some extra money, so I wasn't able to make it. Davies is so damn good, I can't wait to see this.

I wonder what happened with the novel adaptation he was working on that flipp had mentioned somewhere (probably when A Quiet Passion was being discussed) a few years back? I know projects often just don't get off the ground sometimes, or they get pushed off for years and years, but Davies is now in his late 70's and I would like a few more Davies films.

[Okri]

This won’t be super coherent, but I fell hard for this.

I didn’t read Sassoon in school (or indeed, at all). He was always Owen-adjacent and perhaps Owen’s story would resonate more strongly with a teenager (his direct, piercing voice and devastating young death, so close to armistice), so I came to this with very little awareness of Sassoon’s life or career (though history does seem to side with Owen as the better poet). Jack Lowden said after learning about Sassoon’s life that he was basically playing the director – and there’s no denying that many of Davies’ preoccupations are front and centre.

Biopics seem to be shapeless by definition – as Tee’s want to say, “Life’s no artist.” But Davies structure, floating through memory and time, using archival footage and Sassoon’s own poetry, forestalls impatience. Davies’ has always been attracted to expressionistic fervor and this is no different. Scene for scene, it’s also exquisitely written. The scenes between Sassoon and Dr. Rivers at Craiglockheart are terrific. There is real wit, both coruscating and funny, in the sequences with the “Bright Young Things” set. I have to admit, though, that I couldn’t quite tell the period the film covers – it skips through time quite glancingly at times, preferring that you connect to the rush of imagery and words, as opposed to a wiki-synopsis of Sassoon’s life. That said, I would’ve liked certain things to be a little clearer. Not a substantial negative by any means, though.

The cast does terrific work. I’m always happy when someone I’ve heard about doing terrific stage work, often in plays I’ve only read but not seen, breaks through to film. I have to admit I don’t remember Lowden from the films I’ve seen him in (’71, Dunkirk), but he’s absolutely magnificent here. His protectiveness of Owen, his need for Novello, his eventual sour rage against Tennant – all rendered quite vividly. But all the performances are great. Irvine might be too one-dimensional as Novello, but all performers are characters I immediately wanted to know more about.

I hope people seek it out.