It's not an overly similar movie, but as I've recently watched Atonement, Testament of Youth gave me that same sort of touchingly effective drama with a backdrop of a world war. Obviously, the two are very differently told films. But they proved to each impress in a similar way. For Testament of Youth, this was Alicia Vikander and Kit Harrington's coming out party, at least in the film world. The latter is famous for his turn in that one certain HBO show while Vikander hadn't really done anything of notoriety before this, and she is absolutely the best part about this film. Whether it be as the tomb raiding Lara Croft, the grieving Isabel Graysmark, or the curious Ava, she is brilliant in anything she does. In fact, she's quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses to watch, merely for the sheer charisma she brings with every role. And as much as I want to commend Harrington, Taron Egerton, Dominic West (who ironically also plays her father in Tomb Raider), Colin Morgan, Hayley Atwell, and Emily Watson, no one comes close to Vikander's performance here. If this film didn't get lost in her year of Danish Girl & Ex Machina, perhaps she could have been an awards contender for this film. In fact, this may be my favorite performance of hers. Can I be anymore genuine about her utterly genuine turn?
9.0/10
9.0/10