Testament of Youth

Veteran British TV director James Kent's feature debut is a wonderful, if heartbreaking, tale of a young woman whose dreams came true, only to be cruelly dashed as the Great War ravaged an entire generation of her peers, including men she loved, tended to, and watched die in front of her eyes. Vikander, a Swedish actor gifted with extraordinary acting skills and a truly luminescent beauty, gives a quiet but fierce performance. The cinematographer's many close-ups are welcome, because Vikander conveys so much with her eyes -- from disappointment and anger to joy, love, and grief. Her portrayal of Vera as first a feisty teen and eventually a traumatized young woman hoping to find some meaning in of a war that offered none is unforgettably powerful.

Surrounding Vikander is a fabulous ensemble, from Harington, Egerton, and Morgan as the trio of young officers she knows best to West and Emily Watson as her concerned parents and Miranda Richardson as her feminist dean at Oxford. They all play their parts well, with Harington especially effective as Vera's love interest, Roland -- a young man uniquely suited to her. Roland supports the suffragette movement, has a professional writer for a mother, and writes Vera passionate poems. There's a lot of sadness in this movie, but it's not played as melodrama. Even a century later, WWI has much to teach us about the irreversible damage that even the most righteous of wars can cause.