Jack Lowden plays decorated WWI soldier / war poet Siegfried Sassoon who refuses to return to the front, heavily critical of the motives for continuing to fight. He is helped in avoiding a court martial by being hospitalised so his confusion can be cured.
A glorious study of a man who reflects on his uncomfortable life and the poor choices he made. Plagued by guilt at not being in the fight, his life progresses through his analysis and his openly gay relationships and ultimately how he moves into old age, played by Peter Capaldi looking back and his relative failures.
Interestingly the largest part of what is essentially an anti war film focusses on Sassoon's failures with his gay relationship, riddled entirely with long scenes of acid oneupmanship seeing who can outwit each other with increasingly snide bitchiness - to me this went on too long and for no obvious reason. The performances by a terrific British cast are universally excellent with Lowden holding his own in the lead, right up to a very touching final scene. Overall, well acted and really quite moving.
A glorious study of a man who reflects on his uncomfortable life and the poor choices he made. Plagued by guilt at not being in the fight, his life progresses through his analysis and his openly gay relationships and ultimately how he moves into old age, played by Peter Capaldi looking back and his relative failures.
Interestingly the largest part of what is essentially an anti war film focusses on Sassoon's failures with his gay relationship, riddled entirely with long scenes of acid oneupmanship seeing who can outwit each other with increasingly snide bitchiness - to me this went on too long and for no obvious reason. The performances by a terrific British cast are universally excellent with Lowden holding his own in the lead, right up to a very touching final scene. Overall, well acted and really quite moving.