wilsonstuart-32346 I watched the TV adaptation of Testament of Youth many, many years ago. As we were studying World War One at school, the destruction and carnage left me horrified; therefore I was deeply moved by Vera Brittan's account of fledging love and war time losses. I picked up this version of Netflix last night with great interest; could it, I wondereed, top the series that left me spellbound nearly three decades ago?The answer is not quite, the BBC TV series just shades it. I think the series alllows the characters a little more development time than the film allows. Nevertheless, there are a great many merits to this film. Although some of criticism of Alicia Vikander's Vera were a little harsh - she was growing up in a restrictive Edwardian, where 'young ladies' where expected to behave in a certain way - the cast and direction are uniformly first rate. I got a vivid impression of Rupert Brooke's England - lush, pastoral, with carefree youths at one with nature; a long vanished tranquility, that perhaps never really existed, except innoir imagination.The scene at the railway station was nothing short of heartbreaking - it is here, with Roland's departure, that enormity of what might happen actually sinks in.As the war drags on Vera volunteers as a nurse, anything to be closer to her loved ones at The Front - a fiancee, a brother, two close friends. She copes amidst the horrific carnage, the grim aftermath that's far from the honour and glory. Like the women left behind in all wars since the dawn of time, through a series of hard lesson she learns to gradually cope with the responsibilities thrust upon her - whilst living in a state of near constant trepidation; anything to avoid the dreaded telegram.I remember her compassion towards the dying German soldier - the enemy who bleeds the same blood, has the same flesh as we do.Her world is shattered many time over; War, grief and illness bleed her. It is staggering to think how many families must have went through same ordeal - only to emerge with wrecked lives into a confused and dangerous new world with no clear answers. Vera Brittan's work is for the survivors and their ghosts, for anyone who survived a war and asks 'why?' on their lips. It is a superb film and a worthy adaption. Watch it or the TV series.

Thomas Drufke It's not an overly similar movie, but as I've recently watched Atonement, Testament of Youth gave me that same sort of touchingly effective drama with a backdrop of a world war. Obviously, the two are very differently told films. But they proved to each impress in a similar way. For Testament of Youth, this was Alicia Vikander and Kit Harrington's coming out party, at least in the film world. The latter is famous for his turn in that one certain HBO show while Vikander hadn't really done anything of notoriety before this, and she is absolutely the best part about this film. Whether it be as the tomb raiding Lara Croft, the grieving Isabel Graysmark, or the curious Ava, she is brilliant in anything she does. In fact, she's quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses to watch, merely for the sheer charisma she brings with every role. And as much as I want to commend Harrington, Taron Egerton, Dominic West (who ironically also plays her father in Tomb Raider), Colin Morgan, Hayley Atwell, and Emily Watson, no one comes close to Vikander's performance here. If this film didn't get lost in her year of Danish Girl & Ex Machina, perhaps she could have been an awards contender for this film. In fact, this may be my favorite performance of hers. Can I be anymore genuine about her utterly genuine turn?9.0/10

James In the context of this film still a strong-willed young woman, Vera Brittain (1893-1970) is a real-life figure well known for her pacificism of more recent years. This transformation is not entriely surprising given the way the First World War scythed through Vera's small circle of male acquaintances, be these her brother Edward (here played by Taron Egerton), his (and her) close friend Victor (Colin Morgan) or the man she falls in love with Roland Leighton (Kit Hartington). All the more so, as the months pre-War are ones of prosperity and carefree joy for these young people that the film portrays lovingly in Yorkshire settings, as well as at Oxford, given the fact that Vera pioneeringly succeeds in passing her exams to go there along with the boys. Boys is scarcely a wrong word here, as the war takes the Military Cross-winning Edward at age 23 in 1918, Victor at aged 22 in 1917, and Roland at aged 20 in 1915.And when the lovely, intense, at-time almost spellbinding Alicia Vikander plays Vera, we feel the magnitude of her loss, and wonder along with the character how she might possibly go on at all. The film only hints at her managing to do this, showing how she begins with her anti-war campaigning, not least because her time as an Army nurse has seen her tend to (and indeed talk to - given her linguistic knowledge) dying Germans as well as Brits.As one might expect, James Kent's rendering of "Testament of Youth" is beautiful, nostalgic, profoundly touching, persuasive and thought-provoking given the abrupt stop that was put to a very promising time for the whole country, as well as for so very many of its sons.

Prismark10 Author Vera Brittain's daughter was Education Secretary for the the Labour government of the late 1970s. I was actually at school during that time and I guess some of her mother's radicalism had passed off to Shirley Williams. It is probably important to mention this, because these days when you portray a petulant female standing up for equality in the early part of the twentieth century there are always accusations of political correctness gone mad. Vera Brittain's legacy is more than just her autobiographical novel which this film is based on.We see Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander) fighting with her father to apply for a place at Oxford University, he tells her that he cannot afford it. She is surprised that she is offered a place but her female tutor makes it clear that women are expected to be a lot better than the men to get on at Oxford.As soon as Vera enters university, Britain enter the Great War and there is initial excitement between Vera, her brother Edward, her boyfriend, Roland Leighton and other mutual friends. Many of them want to their bit for the country and enlist, Vera again pesters her parents to allow Edward to join the army and she also takes a break from her studies to become a nurse.These young men mainly around 20 years old perished or got injured in the war. Her fiancé Roland she finds out did not die quickly and painlessly as the note from the army said but struggled with his wounds for hours and without morphine.After the war is over Vera returns to her studies but is despondent to the misery and deaths caused by the war. The real life Vera Brittain became a pacifist.Although the book written in 1933 recounts the horrors of the Great War, the problem with the film is the death of thousands of young men is nothing new as it has been done many times now on film and television. It is an admirable period adaptation of the book but also rather safe and anaemic.