Saoirse Ronan stars in another Oscar-contending film this year with Steve McQueens Blitz. Blitz is an Apple original film and is continuing the studio’s work of excellent film releases. The company has stumbled a bit with its previous outings this year. Notably, the Clooney and Pitt led Wolves, but Blitz is a return to high art cinema from the distribution studio behind Killers of the Flower Moon and Causeway.

Apple has become known for picking up and distributing films from some fantastic filmmakers. McQueen definitely fits into this category after his Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave but the director takes a more traditional with Blitz. Blitz is a fast and slick thriller with familial themes that can easily be described as a family crowd-pleaser.

Newcomer Steals the Show

Elliot Heffernan stars as George. A young boy who is separated from his mother amidst the Blitz in 1940 London. His mother, played by Saoirse Ronan, learns her child is missing and the two go on parallel searches for one another. Ronan is incredible as always but newcomer Heffernan is the true scene-stealer.

Elliot Heffernan makes his debut in Blitz after an open casting call put out by McQueen. The director certainly has an eye for talent as this is a huge role for a first-time actor and one poised to be the first of many. Elliot as George is both believable and awe-inspiring during his journey through wartorn England and it’s all captured beautifully in the film.

Home Alone

Blitz plays like a WW2 retelling of John Hugh’s classic Home Alone. The film shares many similarities with the Christmas favorite, the main being the themes of family and searching for home. Home Alone has remained a classic and beloved holiday favorite for multiple reasons. The hijinks of Harry and Marv are comedy genius, the cameo from John Candy is iconic, and young Macaulay Culkin is an absolute delight. But aside from that the overall theme of the movie, the theme of family and longing to be with them during the holidays, is what truly elevates Home Alone to its classic film status.

Blitz borrows so many of these themes and plot lines but it does so in a unique way. The film is not a comedy by a long shot; instead, it creates tension around George’s separation from his mother. George doesn’t just have to contend with the Blitz, he also must escape criminals, avoid law enforcement, and scour for food. Where Hughs and Chris Columbus take a terrifying premise and make it a comedy, McQueen takes the same idea and makes a tense thriller.

War-Torn London

Throughout George’s journey home the young escapee interacts with several incredibly designed set pieces. It’s easy to forget you’re watching a movie when the designs here from a subway to a destroyed nightclub are all beautifully created.

One standout scene happens close to the end of the second act. The film pauses the action for a moment to take a brief sojourn into what seems to be just a standard nightclub filled with patrons there to drink and dance. It’s an incredible image and a beautifully lit scene that all comes to a screeching pause when the partygoers hear the dreaded Blitz sirens. The club-goers all look up to the ceiling in distress unable to speak until the scene quickly shifts to the same location a few hours later. The partygoers are all but deceased now and George with a gang of neerdowells scavange the dead for jewelry. It’s an intense scene and strong juxtaposition that could only be executed by a filmmaker of Steve McQueen’s caliber. The scene is haunting and will surely be one of the most talked about moments in film this year.

The Importance of Family

While Home Alone centers its story around Christmas, Blitz is centered during WW2. Both of these settings are ideal for telling this tale of fear and familial love. During Christmas, it’s easy to get nostalgic and put aside our differences to enjoy a day with our family and loved ones. Blitz takes this same idea but rather than putting the family in a scary situation during a cheerful time, he puts them in a scary situation during a terrifying time.

It’s an idea that feels both classic and poignant. As various countries around the world suffer from war, Blitz is a reminder of the importance of family during destruction. When nothing makes sense and the threat of violence looms daily, the most important thing in life becomes the safety of your family.

WW2 on Screen

War movies, specifically movies taking place during the Second World War, have typically chosen to follow soldiers and battles. Blitz is a great reminder that it wasn’t just soldiers facing the threat of death. Real people had to live and work in these cities that were being savagely destroyed by the Axis powers.

By framing this story with ordinary people and using a familiar plot premise, Blitz becomes one of the more relatable war films in recent memory. Steve McQueen has created characters that we can empathize with and who we root for. Alongside that, he’s made a thrilling adventure film that’s entertaining from start to finish. Blitz is a great film and while not Saoirse Ronan’s best performance of the year, certainly one of the best of her career.