Bratty, teen aged American Elizabeth (Saoirse Ronan from BYZANTIUM) has become so estranged from her father that she goes by the name Daisy and runs off to her Aunt's rural home in England. Arriving in the country to an airport crawling with soldiers and breaking news about bomb blasts in Paris, she is more concerned that her Aunt is not there but instead is greeted by her cousin Isaac (Tom Holland). Underage Isaac manages to drive them safely to his home in the countryside which he shares with his older brother Edmond (George MacKay) and little sister Piper (Harley Bird). The house is in disarray with dishes piling up on the sink as high ranking government employee Aunt Penn (Anna Chancellor) works to all hours behind the closed door of her home office. It's not until the next night that Aunt Penn has a few moments to spare for Daisy and breaks the news that she has to leave for a peace conference in Geneva.
Left alone until a friend of Aunt Penn's can stop by, the children spend their time walking through the woods and swimming in a nearby pond. Daisy is at first reluctant to join her English cousins but quickly warms to them and develops a crush on Edmond, whom she calls Eddie. The idyllic day turns to a night of anxiety and fright when a nuclear bomb is denoted in London and unidentified terrorists attack (it's never stated if the terrorists are home grown or foreign invaders). The electric and mobile grids fail and there is no way for the children to get a hold of Aunt Penn or her friend who was supposed to pop in.
An American from the consulate (Corey Johnson) stops by the house with a pass for Daisy so she can be evacuated with all other Americans. Ignoring what it means that all Americans are to be evacuated she chooses to stay with her cousins. The next day British soldiers stop by the farm to round everyone up; girls being sent to one camp and boys to another.The camps are supposedly a safe place for the people to be housed, fed and assigned jobs such as farming, for the communal good during the war. Not content with the life style nor being away from Eddie, Daisy plots her and Piper's escape from the secure zone to get back to the homestead and hopefully into the waiting arms of Eddie. Little does she know the trials that will be faced traveling across a country scarred by war and through woods housing terrorists.
Director Kevin (THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND) Macdonald's film is based on the critically acclaimed book by Meg Rosoff. I wasn't sure what to expect but the first half of the film is about Daisy battling with past illness (mental and physical) and learning how to interact with others. The character of Daisy isn't very likeable at first but actress Saoirse does a good job of portraying Daisy coming out of her shell and maturing. Right around the time I was starting to become a bit tired of the children swimming and playing in the woods the war story kicks in. I'm glad to have had time to get to know the characters first but I enjoyed the war story more due to the speculative nature of how an invaded England would look and the thriller aspect of the two girls trying to find their loved ones and make it back home.
There are dark edges to the film but it pulls its punches possibly due to the book's appeal to juveniles. The low budget also prevents much of the war from being portrayed. And that's fine for those who want the drama and aren't expecting a post apocalyptic tale about a girl and her cousin.
*** out of ****
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