The late Tony Benn was a politician who certainly divided people. It was quite a convenient trait, really; it separated the good people (the ones who mostly agreed with him) from the bad people (the ones who mostly disagreed) – Margaret Thatcher had the exact same trait, but with the good and bad people’s agreeability reversed.
As the longest serving Labour MP, before unfortunately having to give in and leave the hijacked party in 1999 to have, as he famously put it; “more time to devote to politics and more freedom to do so”, he was very much a socialist. He was borne from Clement Attlee’s post-war Labour party which gave us nationalised energy, mines, railways, and the only one that hasn’t (quite) been reversed yet, healthcare.
The title of this documentary about his life – Will and Testament - suggests it was meant for a posthumous release, which was probably not the case due to Benn’s heavy involvement, but it does make for more poignancy. There is no doubt that the film is one-sided, but it has to be remembered that it isn’t really meant to be an objective documentary – it is like a film adaption of his memoirs. Directed by Skip Kite, the film is made up of interviews with Benn taken shortly before his death in March 2014, along with plenty of archive footage.
One sided as it may be, it is not just full of Benn stating; “I am right”, “I am the best politician ever” and “Look how great I am with my sexy pipe.” He talks of his change of opinion over Nuclear Power (from “good” to “bad”) and the horrible, but predictable, backlash he got from right wing newspapers for his socialist ideals. The interview setting is often quite stylised, with huge newspaper front pages – such as the Express' ridiculous headline, ‘Benn the Dictator’ – hanging above him.
Will and Testament is by no means groundbreaking and most fans of him will know most of the information the film talks of. However, it is a fitting tribute to a great man, and thoroughly interesting, nonetheless.
Will and Testament will be shown at Broadway Cinema from Friday 3 October 2014 to Thursday 9 October 2014.
Will and Testament official site
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