How I Live Now

The American teenager Elizabeth "Daisy" (Saoirse Ronan) is sent by her estranged father away from New York to the countryside of England to stay with her Aunt Penn (Anna Chancellor). Her distant cousin Isaac (Tom Holland) welcomes her at the airport and drives her home. She is introduced to her cousins, the seventeen year-old Eddie (George MacKay) and the young Piper (Harley Bird) and to their friend Joe (Danny McEvoy). However Daisy is a resentful, needy of love and aloof girl that believes that is cursed and that bad things happen wherever she goes since her mother died in her delivery. Aunt Penn is a busy woman that is studying the war scenario in England that is in alert due to an eminent terrorist attack and needs to fly to Geneva. However, on the next morning, a nuclear bomb explodes in London and the authorities of the United Kingdom declare state of siege. Meanwhile Daisy and Eddie fall in love with each other, but they are separated by the military that send girls to a camp and men to another. Daisy and Eddie promise to meet each other again. In a country in war, Daisy and Piper flee from their lodging and cross England in martial law trying to find Eddie and Isaac.

"How I Live Now" was a great surprise since I was expecting to see a drama about a rebel teenager and I found an original come of age story in time of contemporary war. Saoirse Ronan is presently one of the most promising young actresses and her performance in the role of a girl that finds love and reaches maturity is top-notch. The little Harley Bird is another promising actress and I look forward to see her again. My vote is seven.

Title ( Brazil ): "Minha Nova Vida" ("My New Life")

This was a beautiful and artistic movie. I loved all the scenes especially at the beginning. The country house, the animals, the kids everything in perfect balance. Even a Series IIA Land Rover, what more could you ask for. I was hoping to see a friendly badger, but I guess they read the tea leaves correctly. This movie reminded me a little bit of the "Lord of the Flies" a movie made during a time of political insanity where nuclear war hung over everyone's head. They say that artists see things long before anyone does, so hopefully this movie is a warning of a potential future outcome which does not have to happen. The acting was superb, Piper was so brave. Imagine if you could have your first love!

Hence "How I live NOW". I was hesitant to rent this due to some poor ratings but glad I saw it. This is not a big budget movie, but I found that there was enough action to keep me interested and enough military "gear" to make the visuals plausible. Some have written about technicalities of the war and inconsistencies thereof, but I think that misses the point. The main character's perspective is dramatically changed by her experiences and she matures dramatically throughout the film. Some have also bagged on the romance, but first love is overwhelming and single focused. It is a simple straightforward film that didn't get too cute. Don't overthink it and you will enjoy it. The feel of the country house makes me want to move to Wales, although I am sure it is only that nice in weather for two weeks a year.

Beautifully constructed, and always wistful, this enchanting little film features hard choices (not always wise ones), an air of dread and strong acting. Ronan centers the film as her character goes from cranky kid to driven survivor. The failure to explain the background in more detail is not a failure at all. It is not relevant for anything more than was portrayed. It just gets the story started. This is about the characters and their will to survive.

There aren't many wrongs here and the film's refusal to fix all problems increases the sense of loss and admiration for the courage of Ronan's character. Well done.

HOW I LIVE NOW is a poignant, disturbing, enthralling, and horrific film. Wonderful soundtrack and natural imagery that contrasts beautifully with the ugly and treacherous human world. Allegorical qualities: We don't know many of the specifics of who the terrorists are, the backgrounds of many characters, their full names, exact locations in Britain, etc. In those and many other respects, HILN is more for the heart than the head.

Good performance by Saoirse Ronan as Daisy, a brash, cantankerous, and troubled American teenager who is sent to live with some distant relatives in the English countryside. Ditto for the others who play the various teenagers and children. However, the relationship between Daisy and Eddie develops a bit suddenly and unconvincingly; with everything else that is happening here, the character development suffers. I have not yet read Meg Rosoff's original novel, but I would guess that it is yet another book that can never be done justice on screen. Nevertheless, I found this film well worth watching, and it should prove especially useful as a basic illuminator for the book.