Testament of Youth

If I don't have any other plans on a Sunday, it seems perfect in the autumn/winter months to escape to an early movie.  5 others had the same plan, even though I thought I would be the only one at the 10:45am session of Testament of Youth.   I do remember reading Vera Brittains book over 20 years ago.  Published in 1933, her memoir tells of how as a 21 year old, she spent a summer with her brother and two of his friends just as war was about to break.  Her wealthy parents thought that she should be looking for a husband, but she wanted to go to Oxford to study and write.

Such a lovely movie, I thought that everything was done so well.  There has been a collection of first world war shows on the television, all of which have been a bit stilted and overacted, with a local NZ production on currently being particularly cringe worthy.  It certainly helped that Kit Harrington from Game of Thrones, was the male lead, and I thought both leads were compelling to watch.  The moments of stillness, the subtle touch, the lingering look were all captured in a way that escapes many directors.  And so nice to have a womans voice, a story that still resonates a hundred years later.  A story as old as time.

A pleasant Sunday viewing - 4/5.