Testament of Youth (2014)

A British woman recalls coming of age during World War I - a story of young love, the futility of war, and how to make sense of the darkest times.

Director:

James Kent

Writers:

Vera Brittain (autobiography), Juliette Towhidi (screenplay)

Stars:

Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Taron Egerton

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alicia Vikander	...	Vera Brittain
Taron Egerton	...	Edward Brittain
Colin Morgan	...	Victor Richardson
Dominic West	...	Mr. Brittain
Emily Watson	...	Mrs. Brittain
Kit Harington	...	Roland Leighton
Joanna Scanlan	...	Aunt Belle
Miranda Richardson	...	Miss Lorimer
Rachel Redford	...	Exam Candidate
Nicholas Farrell	...	Headmaster
Daisy Waterstone	...	Clare Leighton
Nicholas Le Prevost	...	Mr. Leighton
Anna Chancellor	...	Mrs. Leighton
Teresa Churcher	...	Passenger
Xavier Atkins	...	Boy on Bicycle

Storyline

A long, long time ago, back in the spring of 1914, they were so happy together. There was Vera Brittain, an upper class girl with ideas of her own; and her bright brother Edward; and his group of friends among whom Roland Leighton, wonderful, handsome, sensitive Roland Vera had fallen for... Always having great times together talking, laughing, exchanging ideas, walking, eating, swimming together; all of them envisioning the glittering future they deserved: Vera, despite her father's opposition, would study at Oxford, marry Roland and be a famous writer; Roland, as for him, would be acclaimed as a great poet while Edward and his friends would each become a prominent figure in his respective field... But then came that fateful day on 4 August 1914 when Britain declared war on Germany. All those beautiful dreams were to be shattered one after the other. All except one: Vera wound up becoming a writer... A writer but a pacifist as well.

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Plot Keywords:

brother sister relationship | loss of brother | nurse | gay | beach | 

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Taglines:

Divided by war. United by love.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

: Rated PG-13 for thematic material including bloody and disturbing war related images

Details

Country:

UK Denmark

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 2015 (UK)

Also Known As:

Testamento de juventud

Filming Locations:

Merton Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$53,000 (USA) (5 June 2015)

Gross:

$1,822,030 (USA) (9 October 2015)

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, BFI Film Fund, Heyday Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Taron Egerton and Colin Morgan both went on to star in Legend (2015)

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Goofs

The appallingly long newspaper casualty lists and near total destruction of Britain's professional army, the British Expeditionary Force, during the Battle of the Frontiers and the First Battle of the Marne are shown as suddenly appearing in the evening papers of the day Roland leaves for France in the winter of 1914 demonstrated by the heavy, warm, winter-weight coats and hats worn by Vera, civilians, and soldiers on the train and in the station. In actuality August and September were record-breaking hot months. These battles and the long casualty lists associated with them took place during August and September 1914.

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Quotes

Vera Brittain: Edward was always a good listener, since his own form of self-expression then consisted in making unearthly and to me quite meaningless sounds on his small violin. I remember him, at the age of seven, as a rather solemn, brown-eyed little boy, with beautiful arched eyebrows which lately, to my infinite satisfaction, have begun to reproduce themselves, a pair of delicate question-marks, above the dark eyes of my five-year-old son...

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Connections

Featured in The EE British Academy Film Awards (2016)

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Soundtracks

In dulci jubilo
Arranged by Gerhard Narholz
Imagem Production Music

User Reviews

An elegant and moving Testament of Youth

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.