Amidst the swarm of collections and first week tutorials, you may find yourself wondering what all the academic toil and strife is for. Testament of Youth, based on the memoirs of Vera Brittain, gives us the perspective we need at this time of tears, presenting the tale of a fearless young woman whose brother has to insistently persuade her father to let her apply to Oxford. The First World War interrupts her dreams and she leaves Somerville
College to give, love and lose all in the War. Yet, somewhat surprisingly, this is a film of remarkable hope. Despite the fact that other, perhaps more beautiful, Oxford colleges posed as Somerville, it is nevertheless a thrill in the cinema to spot the streets that are well-worn by our feet. In the context of such bravery, however, it is humbling to think that we have the privilege to follow in the footsteps of so many students who have aspired to such great things.
The film offers insight into the challenges faced by women trying to break down the barriers of inequality. “Her degree won’t even be officially recognised by the University, you know,” Vera’s brother says to her father as he pleads with him to let her sit the entrance exam. Without formal tuition or schooling, Vera has a strong disadvantage. But nevertheless, with the face of bravery which she wore for the rest of her life, she remains determined. When staring at a Latin paper, which she was not expecting, she instead writes her entrance exam in German.
Swedish actress Alicia Vikander (Anna Karenina) stands out with her effortlessly graceful acting and enigmatic eyes, which captivate the audience’s imagination. In a Q&A at the British Film Industry on Monday, she commented, “It’s rare that a strong female lead comes up, so when you see one, you just grab at it,” and that this was a “female perspective I’ve never come across. As a woman, I connected greatly.”
Kit Harington (Pompeii, Game of Thrones), Colin Morgan (Merlin), and Taron Egerton (Kingsman), play her lover, her friend, and her brother respectively, all giving strong performances. Golden Globe nominated Dominic West (The Affair, Pride, The Hour) also brought charisma to the screen as Vera Brittain’s well-to-do father and mill owner.
The director, James Kent, and producer, Rosie Alison, were present at the BFI event, along with Baroness Shirley Williams, the daughter of Vera Brittain. Baroness Williams astutely remarked, “Inspiring figures are those that are
not conventional.” The director hoped that the “glorious young men [of the film would] come alive again and [will] never be forgotten by the new generation.”
More than anything else, however, what truly brought Testament of Youth together was Rob Hardy’s incredibly moving cinematography, especially in his evocative shooting of landscapes and the perfectly capitulated chaos of the battlefront. Testament of Youth brings Vera Brittain’s searing memoirs of the First World War to the cinema in an ethereally crisp and cathartic manner. It is rare to find a tale so truthfully poignant and moving, and cinematography so flawlessly breath-taking.
