Testament of Youth (2014) User Reviews (92)

Anthem For Doomed Youth

[Lejink · 7/10 · 22 November 2015]

I remember being given this book as a set text for an English A-Level examination over 30 years ago and am aware that there was a prestigious BBC production of it also several years back but this is the first dramatisation I've seen of Vera Brittain's novel documenting her own experiences in that golden age of post-Edwardian pre WW1 England when for coming-of-age birthdays you got given a piano from your father. That's if you were a girl of course, her more musically gifted brother conversely gets what she would have wanted, a scholarship at Oxford although on the other hand he is also at the the prime age to be called up for what he and most everyone else (but not their knowing father) believes will be a short, heroic and clean war which of course it turned out not to be (apart from the heroic part).

Young Vera is headstrong, not only about wanting to make her own way in a man's world (female emancipation was still years away), but later about making her own contribution to the war effort by enrolling as a nurse while her lover, brother and other male friends are fighting in the trenches. Told wholly from her point of view, it's an entertaining if not enthralling watch, beautifully shot and well acted if somehow just lacking some extra pathos to really capture the hellish undertow of the War to end all Wars.

Alicia Vikander is appealing as the vaguely tomboyish, intellectual Vera. In those days, it would appear, the golden youth had to be chaperoned everywhere by a usually imposing maiden aunt figure and make their feelings about each other known by writing and sending poems as the film strives to contrast the idyllic pre-war days of carefree swimming and carousing with the bleakness and destruction of war itself. For me, I didn't feel the contrast quite sharply enough and my abiding memories of the film are of the big family house and the dreaming spires of Oxford rather than the hell of the makeshift military hospitals and muddy and bloody trenches on the front line.

The best shot for me was when I perhaps detected a tribute to all-time great movie "Gone With The Wind" as Vera goes Scarlett-like amongst the wounded and dying, searching for her wounded brother where the camera ascends into a sweeping dolly shot showing the full extent of the number of the casualties, just like Vincent Fleming's rightly famous take all those years ago.

The supporting actors are picked from the familiar directory of experienced British character actors, notably Miranda Richardson and Emily Watson, while the young actors in the leads, all of them unfamiliar to me, perform with aplomb.

There is a great true-life story to be told here and this film does so respectfully and responsibly, if just a little too carefully at times.

Unseen perspective, and solid-account of the despair that war causes.

[CharlieGreenCG · 8/10 · 23 October 2014]

Considered one of the greatest war memoirs ever written, the Testament of Youth is a true-life account of Vera Brittian's life from 1914 - 1918, and a chronicle of how the First World War affected not only her, but the nation's lives.

One of the things that determines Testament of Youth different to other bloody, explosive and bullet-ridden war tales is that it is focused on the domestic view of the ones who not only joined the war on the front-line, but also those at home and the consequent effects on loved ones, offering an unseen perspective, and solid-account of the despair that war causes.

Beginning in pre-war 1914, we are introduced to Vera Brittain, a determined and wilful individual with aspirations of not becoming just a traditional young-married women, but one who attends Oxford University and chooses her own life-choices.

Along with her brother Edward (Taron Egerton) and his two friends Victor (Colin Morgan) and Geoffrey (Jonathan Bailey), they all enjoy their youth in the rural village with their parents (Dominic West and Emily Fox). On-the-road to Oxford, she is introduced to her brothers close friend Roland (Kit Harington), and a relationship soon breaks out - but untimely, as does the war.

Quite proud to do so out of loyalty to Queen and country, her brother Edward, and friends Victor and Geoffrey with Roland all sign up to the forces to assist. (Against parental wishes to do so). Now at Oxford, yet unable to focus as this devastation is happening all around her, she joins the forces too, as a nurse - and the film develops from there.

Given a world-premiere at the 58th BFI London Film Festival, the film is squeezed out in time for the Remembrance holidays and by-all accounts award season. Based on our criticism alone, it is going to be praised and remembered at both.

Crafted by former TV-movie director, James Kent, along with the (brilliant) cast, Testament of Youth is a thoroughly engaging history drama in Downton Abbey-esqe war times and a unique approach to the war like never before.

Elegantly filmed piece portraying the futility of war

[Figgy66-915-598470 · 8/10 · 23 January 2015]

23 January 2015 Film of Choice at The Plaza Dorchester Tonight - Testament of Youth. Based on the book by Vera Brittain which is a best selling account of her experiences during the First World War, this film follows the life of Vera herself during those harrowing times. Starting out gently, we follow Vera, her brother and his friends from their comfortable life in the country to the eve of the war in 1914 and beyond. I say gently because this film eases you into what was one of the horrors of recent history, a time which shattered people and ruined lives forever. After fighting so hard to get to Oxford, Vera then gives it all up to become a nurse, a journey which ultimately takes her to France and gives her first hand experience of the massacre that war dishes out. There is a romantic thread running through the film but her strongest bond is with her brother and her world is torn apart when he signs up to fight. Vera was played beautifully by Alicia Vikander, a Swedish actress who I am not familiar with, but she had look of Emily Blunt in her facial expressions and mannerisms, and unfortunately did not seem to age at all during the film, not even in grief. However that is my only criticism in an elegantly shot film even when covering the abomination that is war. Another cinematic experience to make you think.

A true story of when the world changed.

[guchrisc · 19 January 2015]

'Testament Of Youth' is a BBC film.

The film opens with a maffick, but with one young woman being rather subdued, even dazed. Then in a clever scene, there is a Col. Blimp- style swimming scene.

We are introduced to Vera Brittain, living in provincial comfort in Buxton Derbyshire, and struggling against social convention. She and her young male friends, all on the threshold of adulthood, are looking to the future. It is the summer of 1914 and the era is caught well and authentically.

Love is in the air and as our story develops we get some nice Michael Corleone-style 'Sicilian' courting. In a small part, Joanne Scanlan plays the chaperon Aunt Belle. She delivers to the part the same depth that she did when playing Mrs Catherine Dickens in last year's 'The Invisible Woman'. Played initially for laughs, the chaperon takes a much deeper and more human role as Summer moves into Autumn. There is a station scene, much more dramatic than that in the recent 'The Imitation Game', because the trains are going in a different direction.

Vera Brittain herself wrote of critics who doubted the authenticity of her account. Who are we, to measure the authenticity and depth of feeling of young lovers? This was their love, not ours! The reality of WWI, of course, can be easily measured and recounted.

The film gets progressively darker as the war intrudes into the story. The darkest scenes of all are set in France. These scenes are grim and gritty, muddy and bloody. There are many poignant scenes of love and war. Vera Brittain's male companions are played well by a strong cast. The central character of Roland Leighton is well played by Kit Harington, Here however, his romantic side is much more subdued, than that in his role in last year's 'Pompeii', where he featured in what was arguably the most romantic kiss scene of all time. Appropriately, Colin Morgan who has previously played the role of Merlin, here adds some magic, in what is perhaps the most poignant scene in this film. Perhaps the most sinister-looking figure in the film, is the innocent-faced-looking telegram-boy, played by Xavier Atkins. A small but scary part.

Pre-war Imperial Britain changed to the post-war era of Vera Brittain. The pre-war campaign for votes for women failed. The war forced women to do jobs previously done by men, to take up new roles and new responsibilities. Thus the post-war clamour for women's equality could no longer be ignored, and instead change started. The life and literature of Vera Brittain was an inspiration for the next generation, not the least being her daughter, the politician Shirley Williams. Vera Brittain's 'Testament' is now a recognized part of British culture and history. It is a long time since I read her book, but it seems to me that this film authentically captures the story in the book.

WWI was a seminal event. It changed the lives of a generation. it was a dominant theme in thinking in the inter-war period. To understand positions taken before and during WWII, we need to understand the context in which these positions were adopted.

In four short years British history was changed forever. So too for the world. This true story authentically captures the period and the resultant changes. 9/10.

Fighting for a cause

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 1 March 2016]

Though fighting might not be the right word. The movie also seems to go a completely different direction at first, with the now Oscar winning actress in the front row. It remains about her and her feelings throughout, but you might think it would concentrate on another aspect of life. On the other hand, when war happens, everything else seems to not matter anymore. Even things you fought very hard for.

Some decisions are not understandable, especially the way they are "explained" by the characters, but irrational thinking does hit us from time to time. The question is, if we can bounce back from mistakes (or if we're allowed to). This also shows how grim war can be and what toll it takes, especially from the young (as the song goes: "War? What is it good for? Absolutely nothing"). Powerful performances make this a drama that is worth a watch

Heartbreaking Portrayal of Love and Loss During War

[mubinavisram · 10/10 · 16 June 2015]

I first read "Testament of Youth" during university and was captivated by the emotionally moving real-life story of love and loss during war. The memoir spurred me on to read more about Vera Brittain, particularly during the World War I period that is the setting of "Testament of Youth." Having read her diary "Chronicle of Youth" and "Letters from a Lost Generation" long before watching this film, I had formed a strong attachment to Vera Brittain almost as if she was a personal friend. Reading her words, it is very easy for anyone, particularly a young, studious person to relate to her and the blossoming romance she describes between herself and her first love, Roland Leighton.

As such, I had extremely high expectations for this film, and was skeptical that Alicia Vikander and Kit Harington would be "my" Vera and Roland--I had such a fixed idea of them in my head. Fortunately Alicia and Kit's performances met my expectations. They had wonderful chemistry and the relationship as portrayed captured the essence of Vera and Roland: the intelligent, witty banter, sweet/innocent flirtatiousness, passion and angst. This relationship is at the heart of the memoir and is the driving force for much of what occurs during and after its commencement, so it was very important for this relationship to be portrayed accurately and to be emotionally moving for the audience, which it certainly was for me.

Supporting characters played by Taron Egerton (Edward) and Colin Morgan (Victor) were also wonderfully portrayed, which was a relief as the relationships with her brother and friend are extremely important in the memoir as well, and just as emotionally moving as the romance between Vera and Roland. As far as the other aspects of the film are concerned, the stirring scenes at the hospital where Vera volunteers as a nurse are gripping and faithfully portray the tumultuous wartime experiences that Vera describes in her memoir.

The highlight for me was the poetry of Roland which is interwoven during key moments in the film. This is a lovely element to the story that I found very touching and it provides a beautiful, emotional backdrop for key scenes.

I really hope this film spurs those who haven't read the memoir/have never heard of Vera Brittain to go on and read "Testament of Youth." The book certainly lingered in my mind for quite some time after I had first read it, and the film likewise recaptured those feelings for me.

Solid retelling, but not much depth

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 16 November 2018]

TESTAMENT OF YOUTH is the latest filmed version of the memoirs of Vera Brittain, who charts her life story during the First World War. It's a tale of romance and foreboding, of warfare and peace, of healing and nursing, all tied up in a searching narrative. From the trailers I was expecting this to be heavy on trench scenes, but the war material is quite scarce and usually kept off-screen; the focus very much is on Brittain herself. The film has the visual quality and measured pacing of a typical BBC drama adaptation, and there's no faulting the attention to detail. I did like the way that it doesn't shy away from the darker psychological aspects of the story. The supporting cast is fine, and Alicia Vikander is okay as the protagonist, but not entirely sympathetic; you never feel like there's much going on inside her head.

Heart breaking and moving true story.

[t-dooley-69-386916 · 9/10 · 7 June 2015]

Based on the memoir by Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander 'A Royal Affair' – who is superb) this is one woman's story of her war. We go back to 1914 before that awful war had begun and find a young and feisty woman (referred to at the time as a 'blue stocking') who has ambitions of studying at Oxford and is willing to shun the conventions of finding a husband din order to realise her dream.

She has a brother Edward (played touchingly by Taron Egerton) and he introduces her to his friend Roland. After a shaky start they realise they share a passion for poetry, the romantic sort and a friendship blossoms as indeed do their feelings. Then the war comes and everyone's intended plans for the future are put on hold to do their duty.

What follows is truly heartbreaking, I was moved to tears at one point and that is very rare. The cinematography is superb, the direction excellent and all of the actors are completely convincing and bring their respective roles to full realised life. One of the poems starts with the words 'life and hope and love and you', and that could be a pretty good description of what this film is about. The whole thing is just excellent and is a film that I can not only thoroughly recommend but would urge people to see.

Vikander wins me over

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 7 April 2016]

Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander) wants to go to Oxford but her parents (Dominic West, Emily Watson) wants her to look for a husband. Her brother Edward (Taron Egerton), and friends Victor Richardson (Colin Morgan) and Roland Leighton (Kit Harington) all adore her. Vera falls for Roland and gets accepted to Somerville College, Oxford. As WWI approaches, her guys all volunteer. She convinces her father to let Edward enlist. She defers college and volunteers to be a nurse.

It has a slow period-piece start. It's got a nice hazy moody feel. Vikander is great but the guys need more exposition. They don't have enough space to show their characters. It's a slow burn and it's all concentrated on Vikander. She wins me over slowly. She has great sadness. It has very poignant moments especially in the later parts.

An elegant and moving Testament of Youth

[hdebmark · 9/10 · 17 May 2015]

Having read some of the negative remarks regarding the film makers' decision to not show extensive scenes from the mucky trenches, I must respectfully disagree. From War Horse to the Wipers Times, there have been quite a few films over the last few years that covered the horrifying reality of life in the trenches of Europe.

I found this to be a well-acted and balanced presentation. It has left me with a lingering sadness and I feel that it has accomplished the purpose of showing the viewers the aching emptiness and futility of war. No one in this story escaped the impact of the World War I years. Although most of the focus is on Vera, we do see the anguish of the others who surround her throughout those years.

Previously unfamiliar with the back-story of this writer, I was very satisfied with the film portrayal of her life.

Good, but not Great

[AliceofX · 7/10 · 9 June 2015]

Testament of Youth is one of those dramas that manages to rise above the usual mediocrities enough that you can call it good, but not enough that you can say anything more about it. It is by no means a bad film, but there is nothing great about it, nothing that would make it one of the Must See films of the year.

The biggest problem, which I realized this year while watching Wild, is that a 2 hour film is not a good medium for biographies that try to capture an entire person's life. Things move too fast, there is no time for gradual change to happen.

Vikander's Vera appears to be on the same emotional tone through out the film and that is probably my biggest complaint about the film in that it is lacking a contrast about life before and after the War.

But with the negative out I don't want to give the appearance that I did not like the film. It was a steady drama, albeit more on a TV movie level rather than cinema, with characters that felt like real people.

My favourite parts are those at the end where we see Vera overcome by her grief and loss, incapable to see how to go on. The clip shown at the beginning is arguably the best of the film.

A superb movie about the futility of war

[Red-125 · 10/10 · 20 July 2015]

Testament of Youth (2014) was directed by James Kent. It's a dramatic film based on the autobiography of the noted English pacifist, Vera Brittain.

Alicia Vikander plays Vera Brittain, who in pre-WW I England, is barely allowed by her family to think for herself. She wants to go to Oxford and become a writer. Neither of these options is welcomed by her family. She persists, and does, indeed, get accepted at Oxford. However, all this debate and discussion about her future becomes basically irrelevant when World War I breaks out. Her brother, her fiancé, and their good friend all join the army. Vera becomes a nurse, first in England and then at the front.

There aren't too many battle scenes. Instead--and in a way, worse--we get scenes of the carnage that follows the battles. When Vera is at the front, the scenes at the aid stations are graphic and horrible to watch.

Another reviewer pointed out the similarity of one of the scenes to a scene in "Gone with the Wind." I noticed this too. In both movies, the camera pulls back to show us a huge field of wounded shoulders on stretchers, with just a few nurses moving among them trying to lessen their suffering.

It's easy to understand why Vera Brittain was changed forever by her experiences as a nurse. So, in a technical sense, this is a coming-of-age movie. However, it's much more than that. Vera's coming of age meant that she understood the basic futility of the killing and maiming. Working with the wounded and the dying at the battlefront wasn't something that she was able to forget and put behind her. The war changed her into the peace activist that she became and remained.

Alicia Vikander is a superb actor. This isn't her first film, but I was unaware of her work until I saw Testament of Youth. An earlier reviewer found her appearance too waif-like. In my opinion, she wasn't waif-like, but she had an astonishingly delicate Pre-Raphaelite beauty. My thought is that this works in the context of the movie. She may have looked delicate and incapable of any difficult, terrible work, but, when the time came, she rose to the challenge.

We saw this film at the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester, NY. It will work better on the large screen, because of the gorgeous scenery we see in England. (Obviously, there wasn't much beauty left in the scenery of war-torn France or Belgium.) Still, this is a film worth seeking out. If it's no longer playing in theaters, see it on the small screen. It's an challenging, important movie. Don't miss it.

Walking on the path of ghosts

[daddaa555 · 7/10 · 12 June 2015]

A lovely drama, an amazing autobiography; a reproduction. Vikander fits the role, the story centers almost entirely on her character and how she experienced the war. However the film doesn't necessarily'haunt' you afterwards like for instance the Cold Mountain(a pure 10 as a war drama); perhaps this autobiography should be read to be understood more intimately.

A young love prevented from being fully consumed by the ''glorious''war, friendships broken by the horrors which they all understood very little. Themes of longing, waiting and sorrow.

There are no war scenes that are too harsh, lovely music, some beautiful scenery. Definitely worth a watch, though I would only watch it again if on TV.

could have been so much better

[m_white · 5/10 · 20 August 2016]

A coming-of-age story needs a good dramatic contrast of before/after. Unfortunately, there's not nearly enough in this film. For all the beautiful detail (wonderful locations, costumes, interiors, etc.), the film feels flat. This Vera Brittain is angry and miserable at the beginning, angry and miserable in the middle, and angry and miserable at the end.

It would have helped a lot if there had been more warmth, idealism, and happiness in the "before" sections. The male characters manage this, but Vikander fell flat, for me. For viewers to care about Vera, she needs to be somewhat likable and sympathetic. Instead she seems to have a chip on her shoulder throughout. I would have been more engaged in the story if there had been some range in her acting.

A worthy tribute to the fallen and those left behind

[rogerdarlington · 9 August 2015]

The centenary of the outbreak of what was at the time called The Great War, and came later to be known as The First World War, led to an outpouring of commemorative and cultural events. This explains the timing of "Testament Of Youth" which in fact is based on the famous first instalment of the memoirs of Vera Brittain (1893-1970) which was published as long ago as 1933 and is still in print. It is both a tale of tragic loss as young, idealistic men volunteer for the slaughter fields of France and Belgium and an account of an intelligent young woman's efforts to obtain a university education and make her independent way in the world.

There is a fine ensemble cast of established and new British actors, but the central role is the subject of a surprise and bold piece of casting as the Swedish actress Alicia Vikander plays the quintessentially British Brittain. However, Vikander gives a luminous performance and she is clearly destined for a very successful career. There is a sense of authenticity in having a female scriptwriter Juliette Towhidi to turn Brittain's memoir into a film and the whole thing is beautifully shot with stunning scenery plus period dress and transport.

There is a scene in "Testament Of Youth" which borrows directly from an iconic shot in the classic movie "Gone With The Wind": in both works, an overhead camera pulls back as the central female character walks through a field of dead and dying men revealing ever-larger numbers of bodies.

they also serve

[gilleliath · 6/10 · 10 November 2019]

The subtly beautiful Alicia Vikander gives a mesmerising performance here as a woman stricken by the WWI deaths of her menfolk. The trouble is that there's nowhere for it to go, except for her to realise that War is Bad - which is handled ham-fistedly as a street-corner debate with some Jingos. I can't help feeling it's a little self-indulgent to single out a story like this. So many women were bereaved, so many men were killed - and who's to say which had the worst of it? - and they didn't all get to make the privileged choices about it that Vera Brittain and her coterie did. And is there also something self-indulgent about our Remembrance fixation, which seems to get stronger as the events recede in time - and yet which somehow leaves a group of Millenials like The Apprentice candidates unable to say what year WWII started?

A heartbreaking snapshot of true life events

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 7 October 2015]

This magical film focuses on the diaries of the noted writer Vera Brittain. Vera battles against all objections to win a post at Oxford university, studying English literature at Somerville Cottage. War breaks out, and all those close around her sign up to fight, including her love Roland, wanting to help and make a difference she turns her back on Oxford and becomes a nurse. The War had heartbreaking consequences for so many, Vera included.

The film boasts an utterly wonderful cast, it's no wonder that there are some fabulous performances, Alicia Vikander is utterly sensational as Vera, watching this film you'd never in your dreams believe she was Swedish, her RP English is incredible. I've been a life long fan of Miranda Richardson, and she doesn't disappoint, she truly is a national treasure. Colin Morgan is excellent as Victor, one scene in particular was incredibly moving.

The period detail is impeccable, the buildings, decor, fashions, hairstyles etc, all is as it should be, it certainly looks the part.

The scenes in France are so sad, very distressing, but painfully real I imagine. You'd need to be made of granite not to feel something.

There is a huge switch in tone in the film, the first 40 minutes are gentle, almost idyllic, but as War strikes there's a shift, it's almost purposely slow to begin.

It's a fabulous film, one that totally draws you in, I found it extremely engaging. Beautifully acted, you will need your hankies, not ashamed to admit I cried. 9/10

So-So

[jeepgirl22 · 6/10 · 18 May 2022]

Although I realize that this movies is based on a true story and memoirs, it was quite lacking in feeling or depth. I just wasn't feeling the relationship between Roland and Vera. It was boring and I could only attribute it to the lack of chemistry and feeling like Kit Harrington was miscast in this role. The strongest relationship and strongest scenes are between Vera and her brother, Edward. Those scenes seemed to bring the only times of real emotion from Vera. For a story where a young woman lost so much, the story should have made one feel more. But it just didn't. A story like this should stay with you but the way it was presented just makes the movie forgettable.

Anthem For Lost Youth

[wilsonstuart-32346 · 9/10 · 16 May 2018]

I watched the TV adaptation of Testament of Youth many, many years ago. As we were studying World War One at school, the destruction and carnage left me horrified; therefore I was deeply moved by Vera Brittan's account of fledging love and war time losses. I picked up this version of Netflix last night with great interest; could it, I wondereed, top the series that left me spellbound nearly three decades ago?

The answer is not quite, the BBC TV series just shades it. I think the series alllows the characters a little more development time than the film allows. Nevertheless, there are a great many merits to this film. Although some of criticism of Alicia Vikander's Vera were a little harsh - she was growing up in a restrictive Edwardian, where 'young ladies' where expected to behave in a certain way - the cast and direction are uniformly first rate. I got a vivid impression of Rupert Brooke's England - lush, pastoral, with carefree youths at one with nature; a long vanished tranquility, that perhaps never really existed, except innoir imagination.

The scene at the railway station was nothing short of heartbreaking - it is here, with Roland's departure, that enormity of what might happen actually sinks in.

As the war drags on Vera volunteers as a nurse, anything to be closer to her loved ones at The Front - a fiancee, a brother, two close friends. She copes amidst the horrific carnage, the grim aftermath that's far from the honour and glory. Like the women left behind in all wars since the dawn of time, through a series of hard lesson she learns to gradually cope with the responsibilities thrust upon her - whilst living in a state of near constant trepidation; anything to avoid the dreaded telegram.

I remember her compassion towards the dying German soldier - the enemy who bleeds the same blood, has the same flesh as we do.

Her world is shattered many time over; War, grief and illness bleed her. It is staggering to think how many families must have went through same ordeal - only to emerge with wrecked lives into a confused and dangerous new world with no clear answers.

Vera Brittan's work is for the survivors and their ghosts, for anyone who survived a war and asks 'why?' on their lips. It is a superb film and a worthy adaption. Watch it or the TV series.

Poetry faces reality

[ian-39125 · 7/10 · 6 March 2020]

This story looks and moves poetically. Despite the gore of war, this movie has a beauty about it. The lead actress carries the film well. Yes, it's a predictable arc in many ways but the film drew me in and held my attention.

A beautiful story of love, loss and the aftermath of war...

[EssMoreno · 10/10 · 15 May 2015]

I desperately wanted to see this film, since I love all the actors and find Vera Brittain's story so incredible and heartfelt, regardless of the fact that it would have been similar to many stories after the war.

This really is a story about love, friendship and loss.

The fact that it was based on someone's memoir made it all that more real and devastating, considering that could happen to anyone( if a new war was to begin) and has and is, in certain parts of the world, happening to someone right now.

They haven't sugar coated anything in this film, and even though I've gone from being cheerful to completely distraught, I wouldn't change anything about it.

If you want to watch a film that is real, explicit in the right way, but without gore or an irrational amount of romance, and with the perfect cast and acting, that has beautifully reflected this brave woman's story...................... Look no further!

Moving chronicle of woman's self-sacrifice during World War I is undermined by naive, pacifist stance

[Turfseer · 6/10 · 15 June 2015]

I had never heard of Vera Brittain until I saw "Testament of Youth," based on her anti-war memoir which was published in 1933. "Testament" is a beautifully mounted period piece which highlights the sufferings of Ms. Brittain who lost both her brother and fiancé in World War I.

After watching "Testament of Youth" you will indeed feel a great deal of sympathy for Ms. Brittain, played with a quiet intensity by the up and coming Swedish star, Alicia Vikander. Nonetheless, the first half of the film is an extremely slow slog. At first, it appears the narrative is going to be about Brittain's rebelliousness as she is dead set in opposing her father, who doesn't want her to attend Somerville College, the woman's branch at Oxford (instead he prefers that she play the piano and find a husband). Nonetheless, she convinces daddy that sitting for the entrance exams is a good thing. She's almost tripped up when part of the exam features a Latin essay which she wasn't aware of and ends up translating it into German instead. Lucky for her, she still makes a good impression with the headmistress and she ends up being admitted.

The rest of the first half is taken up with Vera's burgeoning romance with Roland Leighton and relationship with her brother, Edward, and a couple of their friends. Just before Roland leaves for military service, the passion between the two is ramped up, as they often try to run off and canoodle, despite being hampered under the watchful eye of a chaperone (in this case, Vera's portly aunt). Just keep in mind, the lugubrious touch of James Kent's direction and screenwriter Juliette Towhidi's decision to focus on Roland and Vera's infatuation, makes for some rather dull goings-on.

Soon, the presence of newspaper headlines—notably the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand and his wife—is a portent for more lively and intense things to come. Vera leaves college and becomes a Voluntary Aid Detachment, first at a hospital run by nuns in London. There the nuns give her a hard time as she's perceived as being an upper class snob.

When Roland comes back from the front on a furlough, it becomes obvious right away that he's been psychically damaged by what he's witnessed. You know this right away when he punches Vera in her side and she falls to the ground. Some tender loving care however, gets him to feel his "humanity" again, and he promises to marry Vera on his next leave. Of course that never happens when at the very moment she's celebrating with her family due to the upcoming nuptials, she receives word that Roland was killed by a sniper. She's not content to hear the sanitized army version of his death and seeks out a colleague who provides a more upsetting narrative.

Soon afterward, Vera falls completely into full-fledged self-sacrificing mode. She pledges to take care of a former friend who's been blinded during combat. But unfortunately he doesn't make it and propels her to as close to the front lines as she can get, by working at a field hospital in France. Here the narrative becomes the most gripping, where first she attends to a dying German soldier, who mistakes her for his beloved (Vera's knowledge of German comes in handy as she's able to comfort the dying Hun, pretending to be the woman he left behind). Then she's informed there's a badly wounded soldier who apparently was calling for her—sure enough it's brother Edward; and using all her nursing skills, she saves her dying sibling. Unfortunately, after being summoned home due to her mother's sudden attack of dementia, she spies a postman ringing the front doorbell and hearing the sobbing reaction of her father, we learn that Edward didn't make it—despite her earlier successful efforts to save him!

Armistice Day is not a time for celebration for Vera, who is shattered by the tragic effects of World War I on herself and her family. The denouement is perhaps the weakest part of the film. Vera now becomes a full-fledged pacifist. She argues with fellow Britons, bent on revenge against the Germans and cites her experience in tending to the dying German back at the French field hospital. While the "War to end all Wars" was probably as pointless a war as you could ever get, the subsequent rise of Nazism and World War II itself, proved Ms. Brittain's pacifistic stance to be decidedly quite hollow. Michael Phillips writing in "The Chicago Tribune" was correct in stating that Ms. Brittain's star had faded by the time she died in 1970. This is because Hitler proved war IS necessary, in order to defeat evil!

I don't wish to diminish the personal suffering of the film's protagonist nor cast doubts about the nobility of her self-sacrificing actions during World War I. That said, it appears that the trauma she experienced during those dark days, eventually clouded her judgment concerning the nature of evil in this world. The defeat of Nazism exposed the views of the pacifists as being wholly naïve, proving that isolationism and passivity were no solution to a nation of crazed nationalists devoted to fulfilling their barbaric Weltanschauung.

Genuine

[ThomasDrufke · 9/10 · 17 April 2018]

It's not an overly similar movie, but as I've recently watched Atonement, Testament of Youth gave me that same sort of touchingly effective drama with a backdrop of a world war. Obviously, the two are very differently told films. But they proved to each impress in a similar way. For Testament of Youth, this was Alicia Vikander and Kit Harrington's coming out party, at least in the film world. The latter is famous for his turn in that one certain HBO show while Vikander hadn't really done anything of notoriety before this, and she is absolutely the best part about this film. Whether it be as the tomb raiding Lara Croft, the grieving Isabel Graysmark, or the curious Ava, she is brilliant in anything she does. In fact, she's quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses to watch, merely for the sheer charisma she brings with every role. And as much as I want to commend Harrington, Taron Egerton, Dominic West (who ironically also plays her father in Tomb Raider), Colin Morgan, Hayley Atwell, and Emily Watson, no one comes close to Vikander's performance here. If this film didn't get lost in her year of Danish Girl & Ex Machina, perhaps she could have been an awards contender for this film. In fact, this may be my favorite performance of hers. Can I be anymore genuine about her utterly genuine turn?

9.0/10

Alicia Vikander gives a subtle and charismatic performance in this flawed but affecting film

[RMurray847 · 7/10 · 11 January 2021]

I have to judge this film on its own merits, as I have not read the memoir upon which it is based. So no comments on the accuracy/faithfulness/thoroughness of the adaptation. However, one fault of the movie is that it FEELS like a lot has been left out. We are asked to take some big jumps in time...we jump from high point to high point...but not taking the time to show less "dramatic" moments in the lives of the characters makes it a little harder to feel we know these people.

We meet young Vera Brittain just months before the start of WWI. She comes from what seems to be a middle class family...enough money to have some servants, but not enough to consider paying for their smart daughter to go to Oxford for college. She's self-centered and focused on her studies...not interested too much in the frivolities of the men around her, including her beloved brother and his friends. Yet sparks fly (despite her desire to avoid such complications) with young and handsome Kit Harrington (best known as Jon Snow in GAME OF THRONES...in this film, he has no beard and is almost unrecognizable as a result). He encourages her studies and writings. They are both hoping to be Oxford bound. The viewer must presume that these folks are all thus just out of high school (or the equivalent), yet they all look far too old to just now be thinking about college. Ah well.

College is interrupted by the start of the war, and the men in Vera's life are drawn into the conflict. She feels a need to serve (never fully explained), and becomes a nurse, first in England and then near the front. The men in her life move in and out of the story...but this is truly the story of Vera. Fortunately, because the script doesn't always give us all we need, we are in the hands of emerging star Alicia Vikander. (DANISH GIRL, EX MACHINA) Vikander is never less than interesting...her characters wears her emotions so clearly on her face, and we see her many inner conflicts played out so clearly on that canvas. Although I would say her performance in DANISH GIRL brings even more shades and subtlties, she still commands the screen.

Part of that command comes from the fact that she is surrounded by some weak performances, and thus jumps even more clearly to the lead. Kit Harrington has some charm, but really not a lot of depth. And as Vera's parents, Emily Watson is given NOTHING to do but look dowdy (such a waste of a great actress) and Dominic West once again proves that he is a supremely over-rated actor...from his terrible Baltimore accent in THE WIRE to his ridiculous little role in 300, West's appeal is completely lost on me. Taron Egerton, as Vera's brother, fares a bit better, and has the most interesting character arc.

It sounds like I'm mostly complaining, but now let me state that despite some noteworthy weaknesses, the drama inherent in this subject matter is quite compelling and the film is still quite affecting. WWI and the truly horrific conditions the soldiers endured, coupled with the primitive medical care they received, make from gripping stuff. With Vikander's strong performance anchoring everything, we see through her eyes the horror she sees. The film features some lovely cinematography, especially in the opening scenes, so we see quite starkly the contrast between the beauty of a peaceful world and the ugliness of a world at war. The film is low budget, so there are no real battle sequences...Vera was never in a battle, so how could we see one? This is not a movie that pretends to be telling the history of WWI. It is a film that shows the brutality and senselessness and randomness and sadness of war. While not exactly charting new territory, TESTAMENT OF YOUTH brings its own perspective on that familiar territory, and that's enough to make the film very worthwhile.

distressing for the wrong reasons

[gsygsy · 2/10 · 20 November 2015]

Alicia Vikander is in pretty much every scene of this film. She does well, as do most of the other actors. It's not their fault that this adaptation of a British classic book about the First World War is mess.

The screenplay scampers through the years, so most of the dialogue ends up being clunkily expository. When relationships or landscapes are dwelt upon, the tone is either hyper-romantic (swirling music from Max Richter) or hyper-subjective (DOP Rob Hardy and his hand-held camera). Relationships are diminished, events are melodramatised, the performances are undermined. What should be moving ends up as mawkish. A travesty.

Track down the BBC serialisation from 1979, with the wonderful Cheryl Campbell as Vera Brittain, to see how much better this could have been done.