I am such a hopeless sucker for these types of movies. They are certainly something the British know how to make all too well. Sweeping historical epics full of turmoil, tragedy and romance. Testament of Youth is certainly one that fits in well among them. It's a curious one too, as it is part coming of age tale, part war film and part romance. But it all works very well together, based on the 1933 memoir by Vera Brittan.
As the film opens, we are introduced to Vera Brittain (played by Alicia Vikander), an intelligent and headstrong girl nearing adulthood. Her parents (played by Emily Watson and Dominic West) are only concerned that she find a suitable husband to settle down with, but Vera is clearly not interested and is far more interested in her writing and trying to get into Oxford. She is horrified when she returns home one day to find her father has purchased a piano for her, feeling he got it for her to play to impress potential suitors. She tells her parents she never intends to marry just as her brother Edward's school chum Roland Leighton (played by Kit Harington), arrives to visit Edward on holiday along with another of Edward's friends, Victor Richardson (played by Colin Morgan). Edward (played by Taron Egerton) and Vera are very close siblings and it's not long until she is friends with the other two boys as well. As the boys depart to head back to school, Vera writes to Edward and asks about Roland. Roland writes back directly and a romance between the two begins. They spend a holiday together in London, with Vera's aunt as chaperone but they continually try to dodge her.
Returning home on holiday, Edward talks to their father and is able to convince him to allow Vera to take the Oxford entrance exam. To everyone's surprise, including Vera, she got in. The following fall, she begins studying at Oxford. But there is trouble brewing and before long, World War I has broken out and Edward, Victor and Roland are off to war. Initially, Vera remains at school, but no longer able to bear being there and feeling she needs to do her part, Vera volunteers as a nurse tending to the wounded, first in the UK and then later she moves closer to the front lines in France, where she encounters first hand the true horrors of war.
This film offers a very unique perspective of World War I, from the eyes not of someone on the front lines, but someone all the same irrevocably changed by the events of it. The film really is told from Vera Brittan's perspective and much of the weight of the film falls on Alicia Vikander, who carries the film well. Her path does cross with her beloved "three musketeers" as she referred to them throughout her time as a nurse, but we see very little of the front line only what Vera is imaging as she reads correspondence from one of the boys.
As for the three boys, they are all wonderfully well played, each endearing themselves to the audience in their own ways in the limited amount of time we have to get to know them prior to the war breaking out. The one that made the film for me was Taron Egerton as Vera's brother Edward. He did a great job in the role and he and Alicia did a great job of showing the close bond the two siblings shared. Kit Harrington finally gets a chance to step outside the shadow of his Game of Thrones role, Jon Snow, and shows a bit more range as an actor here as the romantic lead of sorts. Roland is a bit of a kindred spirit to Vera in a lot ways, often to her surprise, as he supports both her suffrage efforts as well as sharing a desire to write. Colin Morgan is saddled with the role of the bit of the third wheel of the quartet, but in a way that makes his character more memorable. It's pretty clear his character, Victor, fancies Vera too, but makes up a girlfriend so he won't have to bear Vera's pity.
The film is directed by James Kent, who captures the era with a bit of a lighter touch, keeping much of the action in a bit of a soft focus. It's the same sort of technique Merchant Ivory used to use and it's gives the film a classical sensibility that falls in line with those films. He also manages to do a good job presenting the horrors of war Vera faced, perhaps most memorably the scene when Vera comes out of one of the hospital huts to find soldiers being laid out on stretchers outside as there are no more beds and then the camera cranes up over the hut and you see just rows and rows of wounded soldiers on stretchers filling the frame. It's an awe inspiring shot and one that deeply moved me. The screenplay by Juliette Towhidi does a good job of condensing Brittain's memoir down to a cohesive film that clocks in at a little over two hours and they keep everything moving at a nice, brisk pace.
Overall, Testament of Youth is a film that I personally was excited to see when I first saw the trailer for it, both for the cast and for the subject matter (I'm both an anglophile and a history nut, so I had plenty to look forward to) and the movie certainly did not disappoint. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you read this and are intrigued, I highly recommend checking it out, especially if you have blockbuster fatigue and are craving something with a little more depth.
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