A late--and very slght--coming-of-age tale in Simon Amstell's melodramedy, BENJAMIN

 

A subset of what you might call the "comedy of embarrassment," BENJAMIN, the 2018 film written and directed by Simon Amstell (shown below), features a lead character, a filmmaker about to have his second feature unspooled, who is always uncomfortable. TrustMovies has seen down the decades a lot of filmmakers introduce their film to an audience but never seen anything quite as embarrassed and embarrassing as the manner in which the title character, Benjamin, manages this. Whew. Initially rather endearing, by the end of this thankfully short trek, Benjamin -- the fellow and his film -- proves mostly annoying.

Granted, all artists are heavily narcissistic (hell, some people -- our current President, for example -- are complete narcissists without possessing a single artistic bone in their fat 'n flabby body), but Benjamin so excels in this regard that more patience than you may possess is required to fully embrace the guy. 

It helps that the role is taken by a most attractive-of-both-body-and-face actor, Colin Morgan (Bosie in the 2018 Oscar Wilde biopic, The Happy Prince). Mr. Morgan, shown below and above, right, is certainly game, and his wit, charm, and looks combine to help make the journey as pleasing as possible, for awhile at least.

We meet Benjamin's helpful publicist and a few of his friends, especially his bestie, Stephen (played by Joel Fry (below, right, and so good as the would-be manager in Yesterday), as a not-very-funny, hang-dog comedian. And finally Benjamin (and we) meet his soon-to-be new boyfriend, a would-be singer and cute little hottie from France (Phénix Brossard, at center, two photos below).

Benjamin dithers and dodges and acts like a douche for most of the movie because, of course, he's trying to find himself or accept himself or maybe just grow the fuck up a little. And while the film-making background may be a bit new to this genre, the situation itself certainly isn't. 

Filmmaker Amstell gets reasonably good performances from his cast, though the only person he seems really interested in is his screen self, Benjamin. And so we wait and wait to finally see even a remote bit of genuine interest in or understanding of the world or the people around him on Benjamin's part. It arrives, but too little too late to save this supposedly personal and autobiographical endeavor from being way too narcissistic for its (and our) own good. Now that Mr. Amstell has gotten this film out of his system, perhaps he'll move on to new and more interesting challenges.

From Artspoitation Films and running 85 minutes, Benjamin has its American home video debut via digital/VOD this coming Tuesday, August 25 -- for purchase and/or rental. Click here to proceed with a viewing.