Vera Brittain sacrifices the opportunity of studying at Oxford’s Somerville College in order to serve wounded soldiers in World War I. Her brother, fiancé, and best friends enlisted as soldiers to fight on the front lines. Vera decides to become a nurse in the Voluntary Aid Detachment to be near them. A young generation’s romanticism with the war shatters as they witness the realistic horrors of the battlefield. ‘Testament of Youth’ hit theaters on Friday, June 5. It was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America. The film is based Vera Brittain’s memoir.

IMDb rated the film 7.3/10 based on 2,576 users. Metacritic gave the film a Metascore of 79 based on 26 critics. It received 24 positive reviews and 2 mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes rated the film 82% on its Tomatometer with an average rating of 7/10. Out of 74 reviews, it received 61 Fresh reviews and 13 Rotten reviews. Its Audience Score is 79% with an average rating of 3.9/5 taken from 3,833 user ratings. Box Office Mojo estimates that its gross domestic total is $53,000 as of June 7. The film runs for 129 minutes.

“Our generation will never be new again. Our youth has been stolen from us,” says Vera in the official movie trailer.

‘Testament of Youth’ stars 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, and Charlotte Hope as Betty.

The film was directed by James Kent and written by Juliette Towhidi. The producers of the film are Rosie Alison and David Heyman. The cinematography is by Rob Hardy. Lucia Zucchetti edited the film. Music is by Max Richter. BBC Films and Heyday Films are the production companies behind the film. It was distributed by Lionsgate and Sony Pictures Classics.

Reviews from Rotten Tomatoes:

“Vera Brittain's celebrated memoir of the British home front in World War I gets a polished Masterpiece Theatre treatment that fails to diminish the story's wrenching emotional content,” wrote J.R. Jones from Chicago Reader.

“In World War I, a generation learned that war was not the answer. In World War II, another generation learned that pacifism was not the answer. It would seem that there just isn't an answer,” wrote Mick LaSalle from San Francisco Chronicle.

“This is World War I from a woman's point of view, a different perspective than we usually see. It's the story of someone who doesn't fight ... but for whom the horrors of war are just as vivid and devastating,” wrote Bill Goodykoontz from Arizona Republic.

“As Vera, the rebellious, moneyed young woman whose dream of graduating from Oxford is deferred when the war breaks out, Alicia Vikander is such a ferociously intuitive performer that you can't take your eyes off her,” wrote Peter Rainer from Christian Science Monitor.

“We don't need movies to tell us war is hell. But at their best, they humanize its unfathomable losses in a way that history books never quite can,” wrote Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly.

“Striking an elegantly sustained balance between intimacy and historical scope, director James Kent's WWI-set epic Testament of Youth encompasses nearly all of the virtues of classical British period drama and nearly none of the vices,” wrote Leslie Felperin from Hollywood Reporter.

“The World War I-set "Testament of Youth" makes a passionate and sensible case for [pacifism] through devastating, melancholy, persevering drama,” wrote Inkoo Kang from TheWrap.