Directed by:
James KentScreenplay:
Juliette TowhidiCinematography:
Rob HardyComposer:
Max RichterCast:
Alicia Vikander, Taron Egerton, Kit Harington, Colin Morgan, Dominic West, Emily Watson, Joanna Scanlan, Miranda Richardson, Nicholas Farrell (more)VOD (1)
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Adaptation of Vera Brittain's autobiography. In 1913, Brittain (Alicia Vikander) is set to take up a place reading English at Somerville College, Oxford, but with the outbreak of the Great War and the enlisting of her fiancé (Kit Harington) and brother Edward (Taron Egerton), she instead opts to sacrifice her studies and become a volunteer nurse, working at the Western Front. Here Brittain witnesses the harsh realities of war first hand, undergoing a series of horrific experiences which will have a lasting influence on her life. (Transmission Films)
(more)Reviews (3)
Maybe I should not say this, but I felt this film was just so ordinary. I accept that Vera Brittain lived through so much that she needed to put it on paper. However, what’s the use of it, when the film appears so drab. Yes, the actors were good, but what started as a sentimental romance ends like a dull war drama. There were some interesting scenes on the battlefield, but it certainly does not save the film as a whole.
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The combination of Vera Brittain and Alicia Vikander is absolutely perfect. The cruel arc of 1914-1918 lived through with all the emotions that came with it. The lost generation, the suffragettes... everything in its place. Formally and in terms of acting it is also flawless.
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Testament of Youth is, as the posters suggest, a typically romantic (big) film that assaults all the viewer's senses. It is not as sophisticated and emotional as Atonement, nor as classically old-school raw as Cold Mountain. But cinematographer Rob Hardy does some pretty decent magic (truly impressive shots of nature, lighting, editing, details, etc.), and Alicia Vikander is a very talented actress. It's not going to pick up Oscars or make millions, it's ironically more of an intimate film that doesn't have a single war scene. It is, however, interesting in its portrayal of the characters and especially in the key and rather devastating role war plays in this melodramatic story. Subliminal, emotional, without a direct display of expressive violence. Definitely a major surprise that is worth watching.
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