FILM REVIEW: TESTAMENT OF YOUTH

A scene from Testament of Youth.

Look forward to disappointment

By John Esther

Set during the days leading up to World War I through the months following the conclusion of that "war to end all wars," director James Kent and screenwriter Juliette Towhidi's adaptation of Vera Brittain's memoir, Testament of Youth, has its charms, its feminist qualities and its anti-war sentiments, but it is very quaint and adolescent.

Like a heroine straight out of a Jane Austen novel, Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander) is a feisty, naturally smart, young woman who wishes to stretch social barriers. Self taught and admirably determined, the haute-bourgeois British Brittain wants to be one of the few women to attend Oxford University. Her father (Dominic Ward) does not understand. He just bought Vera an expensive piano so she can entertain guests. Why cannot his daughter just be a shallow, domesticated, pampered woman like her mom (Emily Watson)? Tradition is so much more tolerable.

Fortunately for Brittain's education ambitions, she has a dear ally in her brother, Edward Brittain (Taron Egerton). Edward puts a good word in for his younger sister. Father concedes. Vera studies hard for her entrance exam.

Meanwhile, Europe is in turmoil. Germany marches on. War is at hand. Young, idealistic, nationalist British men are beginning to sign up to defend the empire. Edward is no different.
 
Again, father is reluctant to grant his child a request. This time Vera must return the sibling favor and camaraderie and persuade dear old dad to allow Edward to enlist. After all, how will it look if the neighborhood boys are fighting and Edward is not? One needs to keep up bloody appearances.

With patriotic fervor in the air, two admirers of Vera's enlist as well. First, there is Victor Richardson (Colin Morgan), a dear old friend of the family who dares not admit he is smitten with Vera -- although Edward does try to direct his sister toward his handsome best friend.

Vera's second suitor is Roland Leighton (Kit Harington). A dashing young man who Vera's parents hoped would sweep Vera off into matrimonial bliss, Roland immediately understands Vera's need for a room of her own and, rather than see her as an object to conquer, treats her as an intellectual equal. An essence Vera finds rare.

About the same time the young men in her life head off to war, Vera enrolls at Oxford where Miss Lorimer (Miranda Richardson) takes the young lady under her tutelage. Vera is smart; she just needs discipline.

Eventually, as the war rages on, the maturing men begin to question the meaning of it all. Vera speaks no ill of the war, or raises ideas of pacifism or patriotism. She merely offers her unconditional love to her brother, her lover, and her buddy as they battle with the dread of fighting on one hand and the intoxication of valor on another.  

When the boys return to the front from leave, Vera decides a life of action is more important than "reflection" and makes a decision which will ultimately lead to a greater understanding of the horrors and anti-humanism of war. (I remember M*A*S*H, too.)

Unfortunately for Vera, the brutality of that lesson will be driven into her heart, brain and soul more times than anyone should ever have to bear. (To make sure we feel for Vera, Max Richter's sappy score drives the drama home.)

Repetitive, derivative and jejune in scope, Testament of Youth will not have much to offer viewers over the age of 25, especially if he or she already has a general understanding of 20th-century conflict or has seen a few World War films over the years. Indeed, the film's title does not deceive.

A high school historical lesson with lots of violence and little sex (how Hollywood), the real Vera Brittain may have been a educated pacifist, but her youthful optimism, in a historical context, comes off as grossly naive in Testament of Youth.

Underscoring the point: shortly after the war, Vera makes a plea for peace. Germans are people, too, she tells her fellow countrypersons. War is bad. Considering what will happen in Europe about 15 years later, this rings hollow at best, a farce of gigantic tragical proportions at worst.