The story of soldier and poet Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967), who was decorated for bravery on the Western Front, and is best remembered for his angry and compassionate poems about the First World War, which brought him public and critical acclaim. Avoiding the sentimentality and jingoism of many war poets, Sassoon wrote of the horror and brutality of trench warfare and contemptuously satirised generals, politicians, and churchmen for their incompetence and blind support of the war.
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Credits: TheMovieDb.

Film Cast:

• Siegfried Sassoon: Jack Lowden
• Siegfried Sassoon (Older): Peter Capaldi
• Robbie Ross: Simon Russell Beale
• Ivor Novello: Jeremy Irvine
• Stephen Tennant: Calam Lynch
• Glen Byam Shaw: Tom Blyth
• Hester Gatty: Kate Phillips
• Theresa Thornycroft: Geraldine James
• Hester Gatty (Older): Gemma Jones
• Dr. Rivers: Ben Daniels
• Rex Whistler: Edmund Kingsley
• Bobby Andrews: Harry Lawtey
• Stephen Tennant (Older): Anton Lesser
• Edith Sitwell: Lia Williams
• Lady Ottoline Morrell: Suzanne Bertish
• Priest: Jude Akuwudike
• Lady Sybil Colefax: Joanna Bacon
• Nurse: Stacey Lynn Crowe
• Hamo Sassoon: Thom Ashley
• Nurse: Jamie-Lee Beacher
• Young Soldier: Paddy Rowan
• Wilfred Owen: Matthew Tennyson
• Alexander Fenton: David Shields
• Chief Medical Officer: Julian Sands
• T.E. Lawrence: Edward Bennett

Film Crew:

• Production Design: Andy Harris
• Editor: Alex Mackie
• Costume Design: Annie Symons
• Makeup Designer: Veronica McAleer
• Executive Producer: Lizzie Francke
• Executive Producer: Peter Hampden
• Executive Producer: Norman Merry
• Writer: Terence Davies
• Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Rob Hughes
• Set Decoration: Alison Harvey
• Executive Producer: Rose Garnett
• Director of Photography: Nicola Daley
• Executive Producer: Jack Lowden
• Supervising Sound Editor: Stephen Griffiths
• Supervising Art Director: Adam Tomlinson
• Visual Effects Supervisor: John Paul Docherty
• Executive Producer: Walli Ullah
• Producer: Michael Elliott
• Executive Producer: Margarethe Baillou
• Visual Effects Producer: Bonita Nichols
• Production Sound Mixer: Adam Fletcher
• Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Brian Gilligan
• Costume Supervisor: Debbie Williams
• Casting: Lucy Rands
• Executive Producer: Paul Ashton

Movie Reviews:

• CinemaSerf: Whilst at times a bit messy, Terence Davies and Jack Lowden have put together quite a compelling story of the life (and loves) of acclaimed British poet Siegfried Sassoon. Though not a conscientious objector – he got an MC in France during WWI, he regaled against the wartime policies of the Government and was invalided to an hospital near Edinburgh, where under the care of Dr. Rivers (Ben Daniels) he began to explore his sexuality and to fall in love for the first time (here, with an other equally acclaimed WWI poet Wilfred Owen (Matthew Tennyson)). The film uses two timelines to tell the story. The first, more of a chronology as Sassoon meets and loves the handsome yet frequently unreliable and scathing Ivor Novello (Jeremy Irvine) and Calam Lynch’s excellent portrayal of Stephen Tennant. The second, less developed, strand takes a more up-to-date position with Peter Capaldi, a somewhat disillusioned and curmudgeonly old fellow. As the young man’s story is told, we begin to understand a little more about why the older is whom he has now become – and that is all told poignantly with a gentle, if sparing, contribution from Gemma Jones as his long-suffering wife. Intercut with actuality from the Somme (not for the squeamish) and with the on-form Lowden (who frequently reminds be, here, of James McAvoy) reading some of Sassoon’s more potent poetry and, especially at the end reading one of Owen’s, this stylishly produced film provides much food for thought. The quality of the narrative ebbs and flows a bit, but for the most part it works well with an excellent ensemble in support. The marvellously catty Simon Russell Beale as Robbie Ross and Lia Williams as a superbly aloof Edith Sitwell make for a characterful study of a class of society in which homosexuals thrived; creatives created and stress, guilt and angst were really and enduringly affecting the lives of all.