Filmmakers generally focus their powers upon the evils of World War II, granted with the blindingly obvious demarcation between good and evil. Too few films tackle World War I, a time when global conflict still felt heroic, and the after-effects of which directly caused the suffering and horrors of WWII. Testament of Youth is a WWI era romance, a sumptuously shot  anti-war period piece from director James Kent (The White Queen), adapted from Vera Brittain’s classic memoir.

In many ways, Kent’s film feels like a composite of every war romance, one full of clichés. But it springs from reality, the source of cliché, and thanks to its endearing earnestness, honesty and a tremendous cadre of young actors, Testament of Youth proves to be sweepingly romantic and heartbreaking, even if we all know what’s about to happen. In fact, that inevitability hangs over the proceedings, making it all the more poignant and powerful.

Vera Britain (Alicia Vikander, deserving of every kind of praise) is a Jane Austen-like protagonist, a singular woman from an austere family, who combats her old-school father (Dominic West) and yearns for Oxford. She rants against marriage just as a clean shaven Kit Harington saunters into her life, a sheepish grin on his face. This is Roland Leighton, and their shared desire and longing is automatic, and completely convincing [to read my interview with Kit, go here].

Over the summer before their shared studious efforts at Oxford await, the pair swap letters and share their poetry. It’s such over-the-top teenaged love, but we buy it completely, and it’s made even more adorable because of how chaste it all is. When the two go on a date, their joined by a chaperone, Aunt Belle (Joanna Scanlon), the young couple stealing glances, a moment’s joining of hands, a tickle on the neck, whenever they get a chance.

It’s a dreamlike romance, but all dreams must come to an end. When the war bells chime, Roland opts to sign up rather than join Vera at Oxford. He bids farewell at a train station, a scene reminiscent of David Lean’s Brief Encounter, a romantic setting practically ingrained in our DNA. Roland’s joined by the other two young men in Vera’s life, her loving brother Edward (Taron Egerton) and the friend zoned Victor (Colin Morgan). They’re all so naïve, so blissfully unaware of the tragedy to come, assured of their return and the briefness of this war.

Obviously, it doesn’t happen that way, as Vera suffers heartbreak after heartbreak. As Vera’s headmistress and mentor Miss Lorimer (Miranda Richardson) grunts, “Men fight, women stay back and knit.” This wasn’t acceptable to Vera, who couldn’t obsess over the papers, scanning page after page of the names of the deceased. She quits Oxford, the only dream she ever had, to join the war effort as a nurse, desperate to do something.

Before even the title credits began, Testament of Youth opens with distant explosions, the machinations of war echoing from the past. These explosions are omnipresent, the pervasiveness of war reaching throughout Europe even as they stay in the background. This is a war movie, but we glimpse very little of the battlefront. After all, Testament of Youth is seen through the eyes of Vera, and showcases what a woman suffered through while on the sideline in the 1920s. When Roland returns home on leave, Vera urges him to tell her everything, not to censor himself on her account. Her imagined horrors are far worse than anything he could describe for her. And that’s exactly what ends up haunting her: she’s forced to imagine the deaths of friends, family, lover and thousands of others, and leaves her as broken on Armistice Day as a soldier suffering from PTSD.

Alicia Vikander is something else. This film rests on Vikander’s performance; indeed Kent quite literally often rests the camera on her face, strength and vulnerability pouring from her. Vikander was stunning for completely different reasons in Ex Machina, and she’s again breathtaking here, carrying the movie and the many burdens of Vera Brittain in such a way that we can see every twinge of her psyche. It’s impossible to watch Testament of Youth without acknowledging that we’re witnessing the birth of an actress capable of nearly anything. Her stardom seems assured.

It was similarly refreshing to see Kit Harington out of black, even if, like Jon Snow, his character knows nothing. The charming Taron Egerton burst onto the scene with Kingsman, and he continues to be a revelation as Edward. Vera’s relationship with her brother is one of the most important in the film. They’re allies; Edward lobbies for Vera to go to Oxford, whereas Vera lobbies for Edward to go to war, something she’ll never forgive herself for. Their relationship might be more stirring than her and Roland, especially considering the tragedy enmeshed in the subtext. I adored the pair of them; it’s not often you see a brother and sister being so loving and supportive and friendly together. Colin Morgan, while given less to play with, imbues strength, honor and dignity into Victor, a man who could’ve been petty about Vera’s choice, but refuses to be pitied. But we pity him anyway. We pity them all.

Testament of Youth feels dated and old-school, and almost nostalgic for the romance of yore, but it’s no less relevant today with its anti-war message. After WWI, Vera Brittain became an outspoken pacifist, an activist speaking out against the inexhaustible cycle of violence, urging Britain to break the never-ending thirst for revenge. In many ways, Testament of Youth ends where it could’ve began, and one wonders if it might not be a more compelling or at least different one. But as it stands, Vera’s plea for pacifism feels all the more tragic knowing that she isn’t listened to, and that perhaps if more people had, WWI could’ve been prevented. Instead, explosions in the Middle East and around the world remain pervasive in the background, her universal message never more important.

Testament of Youth opens June 5^th in New York and LA.

SPOILERS FOR SECRET SERVICE BELOW:

This film totally wasn’t on my radar yet, but apparently it should be: allow me to introduce you to The Secret Service, a film I swear had just been announced, not preparing for an October 24th release date.

The Secret Service is based on a comic book of the same name by Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Wanted), with art from Dave Gibbons (Watchmen) and is directed by Kick-Ass writer/director Matthew Vaughn. Vaughn couldn’t be at the panel because he’s working on the movie (weird), as they’re putting the final touches on it.

The film is about a group of covert agents founded by wealthy individuals who believe that the CIA and MI6 are hampered by bureaucracy and politics (true). This secret service operates outside of those lines, the “secret agents of the coolest order.”

While we don’t get any guests… we do get a little clip, courtesy of FOX. Some of the FX isn’t finished, and the music is temporary… but this is never before seen stuff, folks.

And… it’s totally in the vein of Guy Ritchie and Vaughn’s Layer Cake. Meaning it’s super-stylized and super British. The scene we see takes place at a British pub, between Colin Firth, or Uncle Jack, the leader of the agency. He’s meeting Eggsy (Taron Egerton), a douchey looking kid who apparently has wasted his potential (dropped out of the marines, listless in school despite off the charts IQ, etc.) and blames everybody but himself. Firth is giving him the pitch while also $#!*ting on him, until a bunch of ragamuffins come in to beat up Eggsy, because Eggsy seems like a guy people will line up to beat up. Firth asks them to leave politely…they don’t, and give Firth flack…and then he turns into an unholy combination of an older James Bond and Mary Poppins, using the bar environment and a bulletproof umbrella (that also shoots!) to kick arse, blowing Eggsy’s mind.

Then Firth finishes his Guinness, and it’s clear Eggsy will listen to him a bit more attentively now. Afterwards, we get a few flashes of the film, including seeing Samuel L. Jackson, who plays the villain in the movie, and looks like a young punk kid who dresses up to be a rapper but isn’t a rapper, which is a hilarious get up for Sam Jackson. There’s also Mark Strong, playing the evil role he always plays (or looks like it), and a Michael Caine sighting.

It’s all vaguely intriguing, but certainly seems like a story and visual style we’re all too familiar with. But the fact that it’s Colin Firth kicking ass makes one take pause. Plus, the IMDb page shows that Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Elton John, Adele and David Beckham are all rumored to be in this movie. Um, what?! Who am I kidding, I’ll be seeing this movie, despite my skepticism.