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How I Live Now (film)

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This article is about the film. For the novel of the same title, see How I Live Now.

How I Live Now
UK poster
Directed byKevin Macdonald
Screenplay by
Based onHow I Live Now
by Meg Rosoff
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyFranz Lustig
Edited byJinx Godfrey
Music byJon Hopkins
Production
companies
Distributed byEntertainment One
Release dates
  • September 2013 (2013-09) (TIFF)
  • 4 October 2013 (2013-10-04) (UK)
Running time
101 minutes[2]
Countries
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUS$8,000,000
Box office$1.1 million[3]

How I Live Now is a 2013 romantic speculative drama film based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Meg Rosoff. It was directed by Kevin Macdonald, written by Tony Grisoni, Jeremy Brock and Penelope Skinner while starring Saoirse Ronan, George MacKay, Tom Holland, Harley Bird, Anna Chancellor and Corey Johnson. The film centres around American teenager, Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) and her British cousins, Eddie (MacKay), Isaac (Holland) and Piper (Bird), as they try to reunite during an apocalyptic nuclear war.

The film premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival during the special presentation section. Upon release the film received mixed reviews, with some critics praising the romance between Ronan and MacKay and positively comparing the former's role as Daisy to Jennifer Lawrence's role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. The film was nominated for multiple awards across various categories including Ronan being nominated for a BIFA Award and a Saturn Award for Best Actress. MacKay and Ronan were both nominated for Best Young Actor at the London Film Critics' Circle. MacKay also went on to win the Breakthrough Award at the Richard Attenborough Film Awards.

Plot

Sometime in the future, Elizabeth 'Daisy' Rybeck, an irritable, neurotic American teenager, is sent by her father David to the English countryside for the summer to stay with her Aunt Penn and her three cousins: Eddie, Isaac and Piper. Daisy arrives at Heathrow Airport to tightened security and reports of a bombing in Paris and is greeted by Isaac, who drives her to their farm. Daisy remains abrasive towards her cousins and their neighbour's son, Joe. Daisy learns from her aunt that her late mother Julia, who died in childbirth, also used to stay at the farm frequently. Shortly after her arrival, Penn flies to Geneva to attend an emergency conference because she is an expert in terrorist extremist groups. Meanwhile, Daisy begins falling in love with her eldest cousin, Eddie.

The children's summer fun ends when terrorists detonate a nuclear bomb in London that kills tens of thousands. Soon the electricity goes out and they learn from an emergency radio broadcast that martial law has been imposed. An American consular official offers Daisy safe passage home but she decides to stay, set upon her love for Eddie. Later on, a group of soldiers attack their home and forcibly separate the boys and girls, who are to be evacuated to separate parts of the country. Eddie tries to fight back but is pinned down by the soldiers. He calls for Daisy to return to the farm whenever she can.

Daisy and Piper are fostered in the home of a military officer and his wife and assigned to work on a farm. When the area is attacked by terrorists, Joe, who is working on the same farm, is killed. Daisy and Piper escape to the countryside and begin a days-long walk back to their home. Daisy witnesses the mistreatment of captives and later the aftermath of a massacre near the camp where Isaac and Eddie were taken. She does not find Eddie among the dead, but she does find Isaac's body. She mournfully takes his glasses and buries them. Two armed men chase the girls through the woods, but Daisy shoots them both and the girls flee.

Later, the girls are on the verge of giving up when they see Eddie's pet hawk fly overhead and follow it back home. They discover that the military troops stationed there have been massacred and the house is empty. Only their dog remains. The next morning, Daisy follows the dog into the woods, where she finds Eddie lying unconscious, his face and hands scarred and his eyes swollen shut. In the aftermath of the war, Daisy nurses Eddie. A ceasefire is announced, electricity is restored, a new government forms, and the country begins to recover. Eddie now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is mute. Daisy promises to be there for him, holding onto hope that he will recover.

Cast

Production

The film was produced by Cowboy Films (which has also produced Kevin Macdonald's The Last King of Scotland and Black Sea) and Passion Pictures, with support from Film4 and BFI. Filming began in June 2012 in England and Wales.[4] Macdonald said of the film:

"It's quite a dark, little film. It was designed, financially, to be with no name actors at all. [Ronan] so wanted to do it and I met her, she was so fantastic, and so right in age. Everybody else in this will be unknown, never having acted before. It's all kids. Two or three adult scenes, but all the main characters are kids."[4]

Release

How I Live Now premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[5][6] The film was released on 4 October 2013 in the United Kingdom and was set for release on 28 November 2013 in Australia. On 25 July 2013, Magnolia Pictures acquired the US rights to distribute the film.[7]

Reception

Critical reception

Saoirse Ronan (left) and George MacKay (right) received praise for their roles as Daisy and Eddie respectively; they were nominated for numerous accolades

Upon release, the film received mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 66% of 109 surveyed critics gave the film an average rating of 6.20/10. The site's consensus states: "Led by another strong performance from Saoirse Ronan and a screenplay that subverts YA clichés, How I Live Now blends young love with post-apocalyptic drama."[8] Metacritic rated it 57 out of 100 based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]

Toronto Sun writer Steve Tilley praised Ronan's acting and positively compared her role as Daisy to that of Jennifer Lawrence's role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games series.[6] He stated, "Kids battling for their lives in a near-future world taken from the pages of a young adult novel sounds a bit familiar - paging Katniss Everdeen - but How I Live Now has at least one major difference from Hollywood's interpretation of The Hunger Games: it doesn't shy away from graphic grimness".[6] Ronan responded to the comparison saying, "What I love about [our film] is that it's very realistic, and it's very much a reminder that this could happen at any moment, and this is probably how it would be".[6]

Justin Chang of Variety called it an "uneven but passionate adaptation".[10] He wrote that the "role of Daisy likely wouldn't have worked with a less capable actress at the helm, and Ronan, whose recent performances in films like Hanna and The Host have proven her willing to get her hands dirty, gives flesh, ferocity and weight to the character's many transformations, from sullen ingrate to loving cousin, from passionate lover to Katniss Everdeen-style heroine".[10] He also noted MacKay's performance calling it "a nice, watchful presence as the somewhat idealised love interest".[10]

He also praised Macdonald's work in conjunction with the production of the film despite their limited resources and intimate scale.[10] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a derivative teen romance in an apocalyptic setting."[11] Jeanette Catsoulis of The New York Times wrote that the film "struggles to balance a nebulous narrative on tentpole moments of rich emotional resonance."[12] Alan Scherstuhl of The Village Voice also compared Daisy to Katniss calling the film a "tender, humane, and searing" film with "scenes of great beauty and world-ending terror."[13] Conversely, Andy Klein, writer for Glendale News-Press felt the film "muddled" its way through the plot.[14]

Accolades

Group Year[a] Category Recipient Result Ref
Adelaide Film Festival 2013 International Best Feature Award Kevin Macdonald Nominated [15]
British Independent Film Awards 2013 Best Actress Saoirse Ronan Nominated [16]
Most Promising Newcomer Harley Bird Nominated
Chicago International Film Festival 2013 Audience Choice Award Kevin Macdonald Nominated [17]
London Critics Circle Film Awards 2014 Young British Performer of the Year Saoirse Ronan Nominated [18]
George MacKay Nominated [19]
Richard Attenborough Film Awards 2014 Breakthrough Award George MacKay Won [20]
Saturn Awards 2014 Best International Film (United Kingdom) How I Live Now Nominated [21]
Best Performance by a Younger Actor Saoirse Ronan Nominated

Notes

  1. ^ Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "How I Live Now (2013)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  2. ^ "How I Live Now (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  3. ^ "How I Live Now (2013) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  4. ^ a b "First Image Of Saoirse Ronan In 'How I Live Now'". indiewire.com. 12 July 2012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  5. ^ "How I Live Now". TIFF. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d Tilley, Steve (13 September 2013). "Saoirse Ronan loads up again in 'How I Live Now'". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Magnolia Acquires Kevin Macdonald-Helmed 'How I Live Now' For Fall Release". deadline.com. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  8. ^ "How I Live Now". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  9. ^ "How I Live Now". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d Chang, Justin (13 September 2013). "Toronto Film Review: 'How I Live Now'". Variety. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  11. ^ McCarthy, Todd (11 September 2013). "How I Live Now: Toronto Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  12. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (7 November 2013). "Young Love, Interrupted by a Nuclear Bomb". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  13. ^ Scherstuhl, Alan (6 November 2013). "How I Live Now: A Movie About Teenagers (And the Apocalypse) That Should Appeal to Everyone". The Village Voice. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  14. ^ "Film Review: Muddling through 'How I Live Now'". Glendale News-Press. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  15. ^ George, Sandy (28 August 2013). "Adelaide Film Festival reveals competition titles". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  16. ^ "Philomena stars up for British Independent Film Awards". BBC News. 11 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  17. ^ "How I Live Now (2013)". Cineuropa. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  18. ^ "'12 Years a Slave' Leads London Critics' Circle Film Awards Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  19. ^ "'12 Years a Slave' Nabs Top Prize at London Critics' Circle Awards". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  20. ^ "Slave, Gravity win at Regional Critics Awards". Screen Daily. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  21. ^ "'Gravity,' 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' Lead Saturn Awards Noms". Variety. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
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