How I Live Now (2013)
Starring Saoirse Ronan, George MacKay, Tom Holland, and Harley Bird
Directed by Kevin Macdonald
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***
I'm fairly convinced that Saoirse Ronan is one of the most overrated actresses working today. To me, every role I've seen her in over the past decade has been that of a mopey, angry teenager and How I Live Now is no exception. It's not that she's particularly bad at playing bitter, but the failure to stretch herself at such a young age (or the failure for casting directors to give her a chance outside of this small box they've placed her in) is a little disconcerting.
In How I Live Now, Ronan is Daisy, an American who moves to England for the summer to live with her aunt and three cousins Eddie, Isaac, and Piper (George MacKay, Tom Holland, and Harley Bird). Set in the near future, World War III ends up rearing its ugly head in the form of a nuclear attack on London and Daisy and her cousins are forced to fend for themselves as the unnamed enemy begins to traverse across England. As they struggle to survive, Daisy falls for Eddie and their relationship ends up warming her chilly demeanor.
How I Live Now is a bit weird in that it plays like a young adult romance, but carries the heft of WWIII along with it. Perhaps similarities to something like The Hunger Games would be apropos, but Kevin Macdonald's film is a bit darker in tone (and that's perhaps saying something seeing as how The Hunger Games isn't exactly light-hearted). The aspects of the film relating to WWIII actually work okay, but the romance between Daisy and Eddie just fails on every level. For starters, I'm not quite sure what Eddie sees in Daisy seeing as how she's so stubborn and obnoxious upon her arrival. Secondly, the whole "cousins in love" thing just provided an uncomfortableness that I could never shake. Thirdly, the film didn't need this aspect to succeed. The prospect of WWIII is pretty overwhelming as it is and the film could've taken an intimate look at four kids attempting to survive without forcing in a romantic plotline in order to drive it along.
Seeing as how the film was based on a novel, I guess that left the screenwriters very little choice but to include the romance, but I just didn't get it from a storytelling perspective. Ultimately, the love story is the film's downfall, taking perhaps an interesting premise and making it seem as if it belonged on ABC Family or the CW.
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***
In How I Live Now, Ronan is Daisy, an American who moves to England for the summer to live with her aunt and three cousins Eddie, Isaac, and Piper (George MacKay, Tom Holland, and Harley Bird). Set in the near future, World War III ends up rearing its ugly head in the form of a nuclear attack on London and Daisy and her cousins are forced to fend for themselves as the unnamed enemy begins to traverse across England. As they struggle to survive, Daisy falls for Eddie and their relationship ends up warming her chilly demeanor.
How I Live Now is a bit weird in that it plays like a young adult romance, but carries the heft of WWIII along with it. Perhaps similarities to something like The Hunger Games would be apropos, but Kevin Macdonald's film is a bit darker in tone (and that's perhaps saying something seeing as how The Hunger Games isn't exactly light-hearted). The aspects of the film relating to WWIII actually work okay, but the romance between Daisy and Eddie just fails on every level. For starters, I'm not quite sure what Eddie sees in Daisy seeing as how she's so stubborn and obnoxious upon her arrival. Secondly, the whole "cousins in love" thing just provided an uncomfortableness that I could never shake. Thirdly, the film didn't need this aspect to succeed. The prospect of WWIII is pretty overwhelming as it is and the film could've taken an intimate look at four kids attempting to survive without forcing in a romantic plotline in order to drive it along.
Seeing as how the film was based on a novel, I guess that left the screenwriters very little choice but to include the romance, but I just didn't get it from a storytelling perspective. Ultimately, the love story is the film's downfall, taking perhaps an interesting premise and making it seem as if it belonged on ABC Family or the CW.
The RyMickey Rating: D+
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