Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander) wants nothing more than to go to Oxford University, be a writer, and not get married. She is infuriated when her parents buy her a piano, knowing that the money could have gone toward tuition, but her father says they "can't afford to waste money" on such a thing as her education. Her brother, Edward (Taron Egerton), disagrees, knowing that of all people, Vera deserves to go to Oxford. When Edward's friends from school, Roland (Kit Harington) and Viktor (Colin Morgan), visit, she falls in love with Roland, who also has a passion for writing. But when Roland, Edward, and Viktor decide to enlist in the war, Vera's world changes.
Feeling that she can be of more help to the cause than just sitting at Oxford, Vera decides to become a war nurse, all the while writing her brother and her beau. The better part of the film follows Vera's journey as she cares for wounded soldiers, and adamantly works to hold onto the people she cares about...
It's a touching film, loaded with introspective detail. The cinematography is emotionally spot on, connecting you with Vera's life in such a personal way. The film romanticizes its characters - based off of Vera Brittain's memoirs, this only makes sense, as she looks back on such memories, skimming over the faults and shortcomings of people lost long ago -- but at its core, the story is still deadly realist, skipping over any moments of heroicism in favor of the cold, hard truth of body-littered battlefields. What a refreshing concept compared to other war films, which strive to show soldiers as anything other than what they are: mortal, and scared.
The film also boasts a cast worthy of acclaim. Vikander continues to churn out memorable performances, and Harington, Egerton, and Morgan artfully round out the world of our protagonist, with minor supporting roles from Dominic West and Emily Watson.
TESTAMENT OF YOUTH is now playing at the Midtown Cinema! Definitely check this one out.
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