
Variety
Held together by a forceful performance from Saoirse Ronan... makes up in emotional immediacy what it lacks in broad dramatic sweep.
Full reviewSaoirse Ronan (Atonement) stars in this futuristic war drama as an American girl who spends a holiday with her family in the English countryside, only to be stranded there after a nuclear strike occurs. Based on the award-winning young adult novel by Meg Rosoff and directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland).
Daisy (Ronan) is sent to stay with relatives in the English countryside. Initially withdrawn, she begins to warm up to her charming surroundings and strikes up a romance with the handsome Edmund (George MacKay, Private Peaceful). But on the fringes of their idyllic summer days are tense news reports of an escalating conflict in Europe and Daisy's extended stay in the United Kingdom sees her first experience it coming under attack and then under the control of armed forces.
LessHeld together by a forceful performance from Saoirse Ronan... makes up in emotional immediacy what it lacks in broad dramatic sweep.
Full reviewAn Arab Spring-y allegory with kissing cousins and a divine countryside setting, Kevin Macdonald's fourth narrative film is an awkward oddity, as uncomfortable in its own skin as its protagonist.
Full reviewThere's not really enough here to get teenage girls totes emosh. Not enough to sigh and swoon over.
Full review[Director] Macdonald struggles to balance a nebulous narrative on tentpole moments of rich emotional resonance.
Full reviewI enjoyed the post-apocalyptic anxiety, a bit like Survivors on 70s TV: a world of farmhouses, Land Rovers and underground bunkers.
Full reviewAs Daisy's situation worsens, she becomes progressively less clear, specific, and interesting as a character, and flattens into a generic striver, except when she's being nasty.
Full reviewRonan is almost always worth watching, but not especially in this drippy outing.
Full reviewMacdonald's film is a noble stab at bringing Meg Rosoff's YA novel to the screen, which sees Ronan in typically watchable form.
Full reviewHow I Live Now is available to stream in New Zealand now on Google Play and Apple TV.
Get to your watchlist.
Or sign in with your email
Don’t have a Flicks account?
Keep track of the movies and show you want to see + get Flicks email updates.
Or sign up with your email
Already have a Flicks account?
Don’t have a Flicks account?
Remembered your password?
To post ratings/reviews we need a username. This is what will appear next to your ratings and reviews.