Testament of Youth isn’t your usual war film – it’s quiet, emotive and there isn’t an action sequence in sight. Instead, James Kent’s deeply moving direction couples with some breakout performances to make for one of the more poignant wartime tales in recent years, arriving just over a century on from the outbreak of the Great War.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Review by Rhys Graeme-Drury
Testament of Youth is a coming-of-age tale in which renowned 20th century pacifist Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander) finds her place in the world as war rips her family, and future apart. With her brothers (Taron Egerton, Colin Morgan), and the love of her life (Kit Harrington) sent into the fight against Germany, Vera finds herself torn between becoming an educated writer, and suffragette at Oxford, or following her family onto the frontline as a nurse.
I found that this film worked really well as both an absorbing biopic, and an emotive war piece. Sometimes this concept works really well, such as in The Imitation Game, and other times the two separate halves can lose their way; Unbroken and American Sniper are prime examples. Thankfully, Testament of Youth falls firmly into the former category; as the film tears our two baby-faced protagonists from one another, we’re not just compelled to learn more about Vera Brittain as a person, but also to follow her, and the supporting characters onto the battlefield.
Furthermore, the film is able to carry out something that I found quite remarkable; it succeeds in conveying the horror of war without firing a single bullet or landing a single shell. Instead, we view the terror unfolding in France through Vera’s eyes. It’s an unsettling approach where we never directly bear witness to the chaos of battle, and are only subjected to the charred, decimated aftermath where Vera, and the hundreds of nurses around her are left to pick up the pieces.
It’s a creative decision that pays off enormously; not only are we left with an impactful, thought-provoking film that doesn’t trade substance for style, but one that also thematically builds towards establishing Vera as the renowned pacifist she is known as today. We get to see her character arc unfold throughout the film in a way that feels natural and logical.
By shielding the audience from the battle itself, Kent is able to maintain a firm focus on Vera, and how she develops from a naïve young girl for whom war is synonymous with glory, to a more mature, weary woman who realises she should have known better.
Anchoring the film is a stirring and assured performance from rising star Alicia Vikander. Testament of Youth is the Swede’s biggest credit to date since appearing in Aussie crime drama Son of a Gun last year, and she grabs the opportunity by the horns, and rides it for all its worth. Her performance really captures the mental strain of being surrounded by death and sorrow. Expect to see much more of Vikander in the coming year; a starring role in Alex Garland’s provocative Ex Machina is already receiving rave reviews, and she’ll also crop up in Guy Ritchie’s 60’s spy thriller The Man From U.N.C.L.E this August.
Harrington, Egerton and Morgan provide fantastic support as the trio of Edwardian gents who trip over themselves to serve king and country, only to find war isn’t all glory and medals. Harrington’s subtle acting style personifies this sense of shock and awe the threesome face.
Testament of Youth is an understated and harrowing account of war that, as its title suggests, has something to say about that fateful generation over a century ago who rushed headlong into battle, only to emerge shaken on the other side. Similarly, don’t expect to emerge from this film without feeling a little stunned yourself. Four stars.
Testament of Youth is available in Australian cinemas as of Thursday 23rd April
Images courtesy of Transmission Films
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