Review of How I Live Now (2013) by Alex A — 04 Oct 2013

During a time that the United Kingdom is under threat from terrorist activity and under constant military watch, American teenager Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) is sent to stay with relatives who reside in the English countryside. After initially treating her hosts with hostility and withdrawing herself from their activities and presence, she starts warming up to her relatives, in particular, Edmund (George McKay) who she strikes up a romance with. After being separated and taken off to separate evacuation camps, Daisy escapes and pursues her goal to return to the countryside house where she maintains the hope that Edmund is their waiting for her.

2013 has not been a great year for Ronan as far as movies goes, what with The Host and Justin: Knights of Valour being added to her resume and Byzantium which, whilst not a bad film (by far her strongest of the year) left me feeling rather conflicted. And unfortunately, despite the praise this film has been receiving, I have to chalk this up as another disappointing movie on the actresses resume. And this is in no way a reflection of her performance, which was strong, but the movie is let down by a script that is flimsy at times and leaves so many questions that could've made for a much more, character-driven, dark, gritty movie that ultimately feels flat and (much like The Host) wastes a premise that could've made for a really interesting and engaging movie.

Ronan's performance as Daisy is the best part of the movie. since the main focus is on her, you go through a journey with her and see her evolve from the cut-off and distant person, to someone who drops her coldness and engages with her relatives, to someone that, when it comes down to the crunch, she becomes incredibly determined to reconnect with her family. However, when she is first introduced, we are not given any insight into who she is, why she's been sent to the UK and why she is the way she is; we're given a small insight into her past through incredibly brief exposition which is very flimsy and is forgotten at the drop of a hat . . . something that this movie so all too often, it's like the movie doesn't want to go down an interesting route. It makes clear very early on that she has some resentment about herself, referring to herself as 'A Curse' which is never explored and is clearly a hypochondriac, which is never explored and is a plot point that is dropped almost within the first fifteen minutes.

McKay's character is this generic, 'perfect' specimen who has no personality outside of being (apparently) attractive and the romance between his character and Ronan's isn't believable in the slightest. It's the classic case of the make eye contact for the first time and they just know it's meant to be . . . someone gag me with a spoon. Never mind the ethical and moral arguments that arise since they are cousins, it could've made an interesting angle for discussion and conflict between the two which is abandoned and is never explored. Isaac (Tom Holland) is the pointless middle child who's given nothing to do and is there just for an attempt at an emotional scene near the end which fails and Piper (Harley Bird) is probably the second best character in the movie.

So not only does is baffle me that a man would send his daughter into a terrorist infested country, but there are so many alleyways this movie could've gone and would've made a much interesting movie if the screenplay had bothered to explore these routes.

For example; who exactly are these terrorists and what is it exactly that they want or after? Why did they start these activities and what exactly is it are they trying to accomplish? When did they start attacking and what were the catalysts behind the attacks, not only in the UK but in other countries as well. None of these questions are answered and the movie makes no attempt whatsoever to focus any attention on the motivations of these people.

Second, there's a friend Isaac has called Joe (Danny McEvoy) and there a scene where he clearly has what look like whipping scars across his back. Its told in exposition that he stays over quite a bit and that his relationship with his father isn't a great relationship. The script could've explored his character and could've given us some insight. This doesn't happen, so when he gets killed, there's no emotional impact because I don't know the character that well. I need more than the fact that he's a kid and therefore I'm supposed to feel sad, that's cheap.

Third, it would've been interesting to see what happen in the camp that Edmund and Isaac where at. We discover that Isaac was killed near the last act, which again, has no emotional impact on me as the viewer, and the Edmund who survives and is found by Daisy near the end of the movie is clearly distraught and is possibly suffering from some PTSD symptoms, which gets the bare minimum of exposure and attention.

Lastly, as Daisy and Piper are travelling back to the countryside, they begin to run short of supplies to the point where they no longer have any water or food, and yet the movie makes out that they have been surviving days on end without any of these necessities. However, they never seen perturbed by this fact, or do they seem to suffer because of it. Plus, Piper is seen to be suffering from foot abrasions that are bleeding, yet she never has trouble walking nor running - in a later scene - nor do they become a plot point. It's a meaningless waste of a few moments that contribute nothing to the story overall.

The performances are the only thing that the movie has going for it. The script is flimsy, the moral and ethical dilemmas that could've made for a much more interesting movie and either skipped, dropped or ignored completely, and there are so many possibilities the scrip could've have gone down which would've made for a much grittier, darker, multiple character driven movie and would've has so much more emotional impact if it had extended the running time by and additional 30-50 minutes, it could've easily had done those things. Instead, we get a sub-par love story with no substance, no believability and nothing memorable. Another movie that could've had so much promise in a year of terrible movie, but it drops the ball so many times that it's one of the biggest disappointments of the year.