Testament of Youth (film)

Testament of Youth
File:Testament of Youth (film) POSTER.jpg UK theatrical release poster
Directed by	James Kent
Produced by	Rosie Alison David Heyman
Written by	Juliette Towhidi
Based on	Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain
Starring	Alicia Vikander Kit Harington Taron Egerton Colin Morgan Emily Watson Hayley Atwell Dominic West Miranda Richardson
Music by	Max Richter
Cinematography	Rob Hardy
Edited by	Lucia Zucchetti
Production company	BBC Films Heyday Films
Distributed by	Lionsgate
Release dates	14 October 2014 (2014-10-14) (BFI) 16 January 2015 (2015-01-16)
Running time	129 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$10 million
Box office	$5.3 million

Testament of Youth is a 2014 British drama film based on the First World War memoir of the same name written by Vera Brittain. The film stars Alicia Vikander as Vera Brittain, an independent young woman who abandoned her Oxford studies to become a war nurse. The film was directed by James Kent and written by Juliette Towhidi.

Plot

In 1914, Vera Brittain overcomes the restraints on women of the time to become a student at Somerville College, Oxford. When World War I breaks out, her brother Edward, her fiancé Roland Leighton, and their friends Victor and Geoffrey, are sent to serve at the front lines. Brittain follows their sacrifice, leaving college to join the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse tending the wounded and dying (both British and German) in London, Malta and France.

Cast

• Alicia Vikander as Vera Brittain
• Kit Harington as Roland Leighton
• Colin Morgan as Victor Richardson
• Taron Egerton as Edward Brittain
• Dominic West as Mr Brittain
• Emily Watson as Mrs Brittain
• Joanna Scanlan as Aunt Belle
• Hayley Atwell as Hope
• Jonathan Bailey as Geoffrey Thurlow
• Alexandra Roach as Winifred Holtby
• Anna Chancellor as Mrs Leighton
• Miranda Richardson as Miss Lorimer
• Charlotte Hope as Betty

Production

In February 2009, it was announced that BBC Films was developing a feature film adaptation of memoir Testament of Youth written by Vera Brittain, about women's experiences during World War I. The BBC had previously adapted the book as a five-part television serial which was transmitted on BBC2 in 1979 with Cheryl Campbell as Vera Brittain.

Film development had the support of Shirley Williams, Brittain's daughter, and of Mark Bostridge, Brittain's biographer, editor, and one of her literary executors, who was reportedly acting as consultant on the film. Heyday Films' producers David Heyman and Rosie Alison would be producing the film with the BBC, while Juliette Towhidi was adapting the film. James Kent would direct the film. On 4 February 2014 Protagonist Pictures came on board to handle international sales and launched the film at the Berlin International Film Festival in that month.

Casting

In December 2013, it was announced that Alicia Vikander would be playing the lead part of Brittain in the film, now to be released in late 2014 as part of the First World War commemorations. Saoirse Ronan was initially attached to play Brittain. On 4 February 2014, Kit Harington joined the cast to play the role of Brittain's fiancé Roland Leighton. On 13 February 2014, Colin Morgan, Alexandra Roach and Taron Egerton were announced to have joined the film's cast. An ensemble cast was confirmed as filming began, including Dominic West, Emily Watson, Joanna Scanlan, Hayley Atwell, Jonathan Bailey and Anna Chancellor.

Filming

Principal photography began on 16 March 2014 in London, Oxford and Yorkshire, including a number of locations across the North York Moors.

The railway station scenes, the train interiors, and the scene in the railway cafe, were shot at Keighley railway station, using trains provided by the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. The landscape shots of period trains were filmed at the heritage track of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Ravenscar and Robin Hood's Bay in the North York Moors were locations for the coastal shots. The Welbeck Abbey estate in Nottinghamshire provided several locations, including the scenes at Uppingham School, Melrose House and the Étaples field hospital. The lake scenes were filmed in Darley Dale in Derbyshire. Hospital corridor scenes were filmed in Sheffield Town Hall.

To portray the war-blinded Victor Richardson, Morgan interviewed a series of ex-service men and women; he contacted Blind Veterans UK and spent a day at the charity's Brighton Centre, where he received the same training as blind veterans, while blindfolded.

Music

The musical score was composed by Max Richter, after taking over for Mark Bradshaw who was previously attached.

Distribution

Marketing

The first trailer was released on 1 August 2014. The second trailer was then released on 10 November 2014.

A book by Mark Bostridge, titled Vera Brittain and the First World War: The Story of Testament of Youth, was published by Bloomsbury Publishing on 4 December 2014. The book includes a chapter on the making of the film.

Theatrical release

The film was released in wide distribution in the UK on 16 January 2015. Its world premiere was in The Centrepiece Gala, supported by the Mayor of London, at the British Film Institute London Film Festival on 14, 16 and 17 October 2014. On 16 January 2015, Sony Pictures Classics acquired the distribution rights to the film for North America, Latin America and Asia from Protagonist Pictures. The film was released in the USA on 5 June 2015 and in France on 24 June 2015.

Reception

Critical response

Testament of Youth was well received upon its release. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 82% of 109 film critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7 out of 10. The website's consensus reads, "Testament of Youth is well-acted and beautifully filmed, adding up to an enriching if not adventurous experience for fans of British period dramas." Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 77 based on 33 reviews.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref
2014	British Independent Film Awards	Best Actress	Alicia Vikander	Nominated
	London Film Festival	Best British Newcomer	Taron Egerton	Nominated
2015	London Critics Circle Film Awards	Breakthrough British Filmmaker	James Kent	Nominated
2016	Alliance of Women Film Journalists	Best Breakthrough Performance	Alicia Vikander	Won

External links

• Testament of Youth at IMDb
• Testament of Youth at Box Office Mojo
• Testament of Youth at Rotten Tomatoes
• Testament of Youth at Metacritic