Monday 2 February 2015

Film: 'Testament of Youth'

Based on the memoirs of Vera Brittan, a name which will, or ought to be, familiar to many British people as pioneering pacifist and progressive political campaigner (and mother of Baroness Shirley Williams*), this film relates to her life immediately preceding WWI, her commencing studying at Oxford and her giving it up to be a war-time nurse - with familial and romantic war casualties on the way.

It's a grimly intense film and, at times, predictably sentimental. Not at all poor in any respect, yet I did get the strong feeling that we've seen it all before. Based on true events it may well have been but there's very little that's original to see here. I think one is expected to be heavily involved in and get carried along by the romantic story. In that respect it held my attention not much more than minimally.

The lead is taken by Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, a name which I didn't immediately recognise until seeing that she'd also appeared in 'A Royal Affair' and 'Anna Karenina' (2012), both of which I liked a lot . She does pretty well with the almost entirely humour-free material. I didn't recognise any of the other younger stars either - only knowing the more mature Dominic West and the excellent Emily Watson as Vera B.'s parents, as well as the always fine Anna Chancellor and Miranda Richardson.
The direction of James Kent (plenty of TV work, this being his first feature film) keeps it all moving efficiently enough, there being no over-prolonged scenes. I must mention that the feeling of deja vu came over me most forcibly when a vista scene appeared with a strong resemblance to an iconic image in 'Gone with the Wind' - and for a roughly parallel situation. I can't help wondering if that was deliberate. Rather curious if it was.

The film is quite heavy in the emotional sense, not heavy-going exactly, but after its two-hours-plus was over I rather did long for something a bit airier and lighter...............................6.



*Shirley Williams (now 84), daughter of this Vera Brittan featured in the film, is one of the three most prominent female politicians of my lifetime (the others being Socialist Barbara Castle and, of course, Mrs T.)  She's something of a curious figure in my books. I used to be an admirer of her liberal stances on a range of issues in the 1970s when she first started being noticed, first as a member of the then Labour government, and then her defection to what eventually became the Liberal Democratic Party, which she still represents in the House of Lords. However, her ensuing Parliamentary voting record is, for 'progressives and radicals', a disappointing one, as she tends to follow the official Roman Catholic line on 'social issues' - opposing moves for easier abortion, easier divorce and all gay adoption, and most recently opposing equal marriage. (Strangely, her lifelong, deeply-held religious faith did not prevent her getting divorced and re-marrying while her first husband was still alive!). Additionally, during the furore after 'The Satanic Verses' was published she seemed to be taking the line that Rushdie only had himself to blame for writing that particular piece of fiction. I wonder what her mother would have thought of any of these attitudes. One can only surmise.

10 comments:

  1. I've been waiting for you to review this.....I ve been put off by the Huge " list" of stereotypical scenes in the preview
    The gone with the wind scene of injured soldiers with the nurse, the farewell on the station, the walking through fields...
    It seems all a bit contrived

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    1. I think, J.G., that the young lady's experiences were not very different from those of a number of similar-aged females around this time. I've no doubt that what Miss Brittan went through was shattering to her personally, but I failed to see anything about her own story made it stand out as being so different that it deserved its own narrative.
      I didn't see any trailers or previews of this so I'd no idea what to expect. Maybe if I had then I too would have been put off, perhaps so much that I may not have bothered seeing it at all.

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  2. a 6. that is quite promising then. I cant see it listed at the cinema here again. may have to wait for the DVD

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    1. Sol (good to see you're still there!), to be honest I'd been wondering whether I shouldn't have knocked my mark of '6' down a notch, to 5.5 or even 5 - mainly because I quite unaccountably also gave 'Foxcatcher' a 6, when this latter was a far more interesting film, not least for the stand-out performance of Steve Carrell. But my verdicts and scores are 'immediate reaction' events, and a number of them do change either way with time for reflection. But I can't see myself wishing to upgrade 'Testimony' - only, as I say, in the other direction.

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  3. I saw this many years ago, probably on PBS or A&E and it was incredible. I am hoping that this new retelling is just as good..But with actors like Dominic West (so good in "The Affair") and Miranda Richardson in the cast, it just has to add more to the film.

    You mention the "vista scene" I saw it in the trailer and yes, it immediately brings to mind "GWTW" But what is wrong with that? It is brutally effective and shows the audience the horrific toll that war takes.

    Without question, I shall see this one.

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    1. Paul, your more favourable pre-disposition towards this film will probably mean that you'll get more out of it than I did. As I say to J.G. above, I went into this totally 'blind' - apart from having a very superficial knowledge about who Vera Brittan was, and after having seen it I didn't come out thinking that I've really got to read her story in her own words.
      We all know what a horror that war was (which war wasn't?) and there are some grisly scenes of injuries here, though I have seen much more graphic depictions in more than a few other films. Here it is basically only a backdrop to the emotional; turmoil felt by the central character.
      I wouldn't warn anyone off from seeing this, but I would say that I doubt if it will be leaving any deep impression in my own memory..

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  4. That story does seem to be told and retold. I think it would be hard at this point to come up with something new and different in the telling. As for Shirley Williams, what a huge disappointment. But so happy for her that her traditional Catholic Church would forgive HER at least for not doing things by the book.

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    1. It's difficult to come up with anything original to say about WWI, Mitch. Not that one ought to belittle the very real feelings of fear and despair of those living through it, but we really have seen it all before, and this story didn't strike me as being sufficiently exceptional to merit the big screen treatment, intense though
      the experience undoubtedly was for Miss Brittan.

      Baroness Williams has become one of those figures who, when she appears on TV (quite regularly, still, on political discussion shows) makes me just want to switch over, which I often do - as I used to do whenever Thatcher came on. Fine if she's happy being an R.C. - even if she has re-defined what is acceptable for herself - but don't start dictating to and restricting other peoples lives.

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  5. I was not aware of the film or the woman it's about.

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    1. I think its appeal will be quite insular, H.K. - though I might have said the same thing about 'The Imitation Game',and would have been so wrong.
      And frankly, most British people would not know about Vera Brittan nor recognise her name. My own knowledge was scant enough.

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