Review of How I Live Now (2013) by Jeff H — 06 Aug 2014
How I Live Now tells the story of angsty teen "Daisy" who has been sent by her father to live with her aunt and cousins in rural England. She arrived just as tensions in Europe rage over a bombing in Paris.
Her aunt has to fly to Geneva for an emergency conference to try to preserve peace. Unfortunately, World War III could not be averted and the children have an idyllic picnic interrupted by a nuclear blast 100 miles away in London.
The children even feel the wind and get covered in ash. This is one of my favorite scenes of this year so far, it's beautiful but horrifying. Instead of returning to the U.S., Daisy chooses to stay and help her eldest cousin Eddie care for the two younger cousins, the youngest of which is adorable and fancies her pet goat a unicorn.
Daisy and Eddie also become intimate with one another and though this didn't hurt the film for me, I was a little confused by this choice. I bet some will be turned off by this. Ultimately the girls are separated from the boys and the third act is spent trying to reunite their makeshift family.
This third act will feel monotonous to some, myself included. The World War makes for a fascinating backdrop, but we aren't given much detail, we don't even know who is involved. This could have livened the slower parts of the story.
Overall, I still enjoyed the film and Saoirse Ronan is strong as always. How I Live Now is a strong 3 stars.
This review of How I Live Now (2013) was written by Jeff H on 06 Aug 2014.
How I Live Now has generally received positive reviews.
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