How I Live Now (2013)

To me, this movie is perfection.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

How I Live Now portrays what life would be like in Britain if World War III were to happen. I think that how they portrayed the story of how these kids learn to adapt quickly to the changes and awful experiences really opened my eyes to see war, love, and loss differently. But what I don't understand is that Daisy, the American that comes to live with her British cousins, falls in love with the oldest one, Eddie. Now, are actually related or just family friends that are referred to as cousin? That part really threw me off. Overall, I thought that it was pretty good. I'm still in shock that the middle child of the three cousins, was killed. See, when the military came, they separated the boy and the girls, so really, the whole movie is from Daisy's perspective, so we never really see what happened to the boys because when Daisy goes back to her house, she finds Eddie, the older cousin, but he doesn't speak about what happens. And that's how they end it, just that the kids are now on their own and nobody knows what happened to Eddie. It's really kind of confusing. All in all, I liked it. I liked that it left me wondering but it's frustrating not knowing what happened. The parents never do return in the movie so I'm assuming they are dead or at some military camp. But I guess that's just how they live now....

Incest and terrorism are both horrible. This is a movie that explores both.An Anerican teenager and her English cousin embark on a sexual relationship against the backdrop of WW3 but get separated and she must go on a journey to be reunited after a terror attack in London separates them.Phoned in performances meet flat direction in a movie that doesn't know whether it's trying to be thought provoking, romance or thriller and ends up falling short on all three instead of succeeding at any of them.Pure garbage. AVOID!

Teenage American Daisy visits relatives in rural England while international tensions rise . Before long a nuclear device destroys London and the country is put under martial law and Daisy finds herself in a fight for survival !!!!! SPOILERS !!!!!! Yet another film featuring a teenager fighting to survive similar to THE HUNGER GAMES and THE MAZE RUNNER and like these films has a novel as a source . HOW I LIVE NOW does hint that it's going to be darker and bleaker than similar movies but then decides to blow everything with a scenario that is just too difficult to buy in to . It's trying to be more realistic than its peers but if you're going to be realistic then realism should be a prime concern and this is where everything falls downAs someone who grew up in the cold war era nuclear holocaust scared the heck out of me . Here it's used as a vague plot device . Nuclear bombs weren't a fun topic to research in the 1980s but watching stuff like THREADS did give a layman a rough idea of what happens when they explode . A nuclear device destroys London and yet TV cameras still work ? Wouldn't electro magnetic pulse ( EMP ) fry all the electronics in the surrounding area ? Ditto it would also destroy all the power supplies and yet the electricity stays on long enough to inform the characters and therefore the audience as to what's happening . Plot convenience while being contrived at the same time but many films use this so it's not unique to this one . However the story constantly keeps tripping itself up such as having a character state they're a long way from London and yet nuclear fall out instantly lands on them as they hear a nuclear explosion . In reality it would several hours and if fall out can reach them why didn't they experience the shockwave of a nuclear explosion ?It's rather clear the nuclear device spoken about wasn't sent to its target via a delivery system such as a missile but left hidden similar to a terrorist bombing . Again there's a myth that you explode via conventional means it'll go up in the infamous mushroom cloud way . It won't . In order for the warhead to work it has to be delivered via the way it's designed otherwise all you've got is a "dirty bomb" unable to yield kilotons or megatons of explosive energy This falls apart when it ties in with the rest of the scenario . Britain is being attacked by a "rebel / terrorist force" rather than a nation state but how likely is this ? A terrorist or rebel power doesn't have a nuclear delivery system and yet has the manpower and logistical support in order to invade an Island nation ? The last invaders to conquer the British Isles were the Normans and would be invaders like Napoleon and Hitler later found this impossible due to an accident of geography . A Island has borders that can be easily defended and difficult to breach and Britain also has a nuclear deterrent . If London had been nuked then surely that means the gloves have come off and any would be invader is going to get nuked in advance as they gather on the British shoreline ? I looked up Meg Rosoff's novel on Amazon and apparently it is similarly vague . THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy is vague as to its scenario but that film gripped me like a vice . With HOW I LIVE NOW everything falls apart when given the slightest bit of thought and is painfully contrived all the way up to its implausible happy ending This is all a great shame because there's almost a great film trying to escape from its screenplay . Saoirse Ronan as the mentally ill teenager Daisy gives a great performance as she starts off as selfish to the point of narcissistic troubled teen and turns in to a mature woman by the end . I can see the storyline is concentrating on character development and here it does succeed . Director Kevin Macdonald does show a lot of talent but like BLACK SEA he seems to be a victim that he has been hired to direct an underdeveloped screenplay full of plot holes and contrivance . Both its star and its director deserved more as did the audience

This movie is a bit like Alice in wonderland, surviving a nuclear war. A spoilt, disrespectful and unappreciative Yankee girl, is sent to visit some relatives who live in the English country side, (lovely scenery, lousy story line) and when she arrives, she is collected by her 14 yr old cousin who has driven some 8hrs to pick her up (let's not worry about police and unlawful driving here): straight away this tells you there's something terribly wrong with the whole lot of them, and this is verified by the fact that the aunt is too busy with: whatever: and doesn't make an effort or an appearance, to welcome her niece who's travelled so far to stay with them. There is no uncle, but there is an older male cousin who could gave gone to pick her up, but was otherwise preoccupied with another bird (the feathered type). As I said, the aunt is no where to be seen, the kids are are on their own, and it doesn't take long for the older cousin to strike up an incestuous relationship with the uptight Yankee girl. Then a nuclear bomb goes off in London and the two romantic lovers are separated by the British military, and the second half of the movie is about her trying trying to find him again: I.e Cinderella looking for Prince Charming, and they live happily ever after. Other than some nice nature scenes, this movie is really awful.