Written and directed by Simon Amstell, this 2018 film is the perfect modern romantic comedy—painfully self-aware, with a clever commentary on love and validation. Just shy of ninety minutes, Benjamin playfully twists and expands on existing genre conventions from the get-go.
★★★★✰
Colin Morgan plays our eponymous protagonist Benjamin, Irish accent and hilarious awkwardness in full glory. After garnering success from his first film, Benjamin grapples with the expectations placed upon others and himself as he attempts to complete his next project. Along his journey he meets Noah (Phénix Bostard), and grapples with his fear of love and ability to carve out his identity in the world.
The film’s humour is grounded in mundane movie moments we have come to expect and even poke fun at. Camera techniques are used playfully; in the latter third of the film, for example, Benjamin listens, exasperated, to actor friend Harry (Jack Rowan) with his head in his hands—mirroring the painting behind him. This not-so-subtle irony is also found when Benjamin hits rock bottom—in both his personal and professional life—as he stands beneath a neon sign reading ‘brilliant and poignant’.
This lean into predictability is seen too in the musical score, which repeatedly emphasises romcom clichés. Careful, melancholic piano notes soundtrack Benjamin looking out of a bus window, forlorn, and it’s hard not to laugh at the deliberately formulaic scene.
Perhaps the film’s greatest strength is its characters, who are extremely well-written. Benjamin’s relationship with Noah begins on a humorous note as Benjamin stares at him across the room as he performs—very romcom-esque. Yet the focus on a queer relationship refreshes the well-worn tropes, bringing something newer to the table. Jessica Raine as Billie is excellent, subverting expectations by playing the douche-bag, unlikely-friend role. Easy laughs arrive from her repetition of “I’m in the cab now!” throughout the film when she is never, in fact, in a cab.
Benjamin brings the most humour, not only through his bluntness and consistent inability to say the right thing, but also by the very circumstances of his life. The film opens with his return to his empty apartment—empty bar a cat, of course. He proceeds to buy not one but two tubs of ice cream and throws it up, blaming said cat. Benjamin is a gender-flipped and potentially less successful Bridget Jones, his new film a version of his own diary detailing his issues with love. His hilariously pathetic behaviour continues when he watches a YouTube video of his singer ex-boyfriend after a particularly lonely evening. The desperation oozes off of the screen: he is the ultimate heartbroken character.
To what purpose are these clichés? The typical iconography of the romcom genre is pushed to the limits in Benjamin to allow for poignant and tender moments rather than simply seeming overdone. This is encapsulated in the friendship between Benjamin and Stephen (Joel Fry), with one of the film’s funniest scenes cross-cutting between two equally awkward moments. Their friendship is hilarious yet allows for tender discussion of mental health and love. These moments of tension are equally broken by their easy banter, balancing out the contrasting tones.
The Verdict
Many scenes border on ridiculous (like Benjamin introducing his ex-boyfriend to his new partner’s parents)—we yearn to reach through the screen and shake some sense into Benjamin. Yet these absolutely absurd actions lead to moments of growth for our blundering protagonist, the director perfectly walking the line between comedy and earnestness to create the perfect modern romantic comedy.
Words by Evie Miskelly
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Enjoyed this nicely written and insightful review of one of my favorite recent films.