Benjamin

Benjamin is a director. His first film drew attention and his second is about to screen at the London Film Festival. It is called No Self and he is not sure about it himself. In the days before the screening everything comes at once: the producer is anxious, the press questions uncomfortable, and his friend Stephen is occupied with a stage show. At a concert he meets a musician called Noah. A relationship begins. Benjamin treats it as he treats his film; he analyses every moment, asks what he is feeling and cannot stop himself. Simon Amstell writes and directs; it is his first feature. Colin Morgan plays Benjamin and Phénix Brossard plays Noah; Joel Fry is in the cast. It is a British production. Amstell was known as a television presenter and comedian and this is his first fiction feature. The narrative leans on his own experience; Amstell said openly that the film is personal. The matter it treats is self observation; the character watches his life instead of living it, and that spoils the relationship. Its humour rests on embarrassment; the comedy comes out of moments of discomfort. The film inside the film is its second axis and the two works resemble each other. It runs short and the narrative proceeds loosely. Its limit is scale; the narrative is small and carries little beyond its character. Who it is for: viewers who like British independent comedy drama and relationship narratives. Who it is not for: the character is tiring, there is little event, and the ending uncertain.