Flinty-faced youngster Saoirse Ronan (looking alarmingly like a young Lara Flynn Boyle) gets her shot as an action heroine in this survival/road trip story set in England after London has been nuked. Who is responsible doesn't matter much, because the sphere of that action is wonderfully small-scale and ordinary: a girl trying to get what's left of her family back together while also trying to avoid the horrors of war. The R rating is a shame and a scandal: a shame because it's the best teen-centered drama in recent memory, and a scandal because the violence isn't rampant or gruesome — just real. Director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) manages to impart a magical feeling to the goings-on both before and after the blast, without ever resorting to, you know, magic. For every familiar beat, there is some unexpected hiccup — an oddly refreshing experience. (2013) — Matthew Lickona
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