Benjamin *** (2018, Colin Morgan, Phénix Brossard, Anna Chancellor, Joel Fry, Jack Rowan) – Movie Review

Colin Morgan stars as the dazed and confused gay film-maker Benjamin in writer-director Simon Amstell’s amusing and appealing, bittersweet romantic comedy called Benjamin oddly enough.

Colin Morgan, last seen in Rupert Everett’s The Happy Prince (2018) as Alfred Bosie Douglas, has another awkward, difficult, far from totally sympathetic character to play, but plays it well. Benjamin is dithering desperately in his career, wracked with self doubt as his dodgy feature film No Self premieres at the Curzon Soho at the 2017 London Film Festival, and is dithering desperately in his private life after meeting a young French singer/ musician called Noah (Phénix Brossard) at a gig.

The course of their romance would run smoothly, if only Benjamin would let it. They are both cute and apparently made for each other. But Ben won’t let it – he is in emotional turmoil as he is wracked with self doubt about his worth after a two-year relationship went wrong. Obviously, his ex is going to turn up just at the wrong moment, and that moment is when Ben is meeting the parents. Ah well, Ben can always go back to living alone with just his cat for company.

Colin Morgan and Joel Fry in Benjamin (2018).

The humour is there throughout, and is mostly good humour. The media satire is as obvious as the gay romance, but Amstell manages to make both the satire and the romance fresh and funny and, in the case of the romance, affecting. In many ways this is quite an old fashioned film, but none the worse for that.

Joel Fry as Ben’s struggling stand-up buddy Stephen, Jack Rowan as Ben’s actor friend Harry, Anna Chancellor as film-maker Tessa and Michèle Belgrand as media type Adrienne all get a little look in. London gets a look in too, with a nice flavour of one or two media bits of it. The Curzon Soho is quite a character in the drama too. It is under threat from Crossrail, so let us hope it lives to tell the tale. The critics are out with their knives to get Ben’s film. This is the one unbelievable thing in the film. I can’t believe any critic would be as mean as this. Funny though.

As the film within a film is called No Self, Amstell might have thought of calling his actual film No Self instead of the rather off-putting Benjamin. It is the weakest ingredient in a sweet movie, propelled by the charm of its two leading men, Morgan and Brossard. Amstell could consider making a sequel. Benjamin is plenty good enough for some more of his story.

It is premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on 19 October 2018.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Movie Review

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