HOW I LIVE NOW is the latest in the sub-genre of post-apocalyptic films taking place in the United Kingdom, but this time it is from the POV of a 17 year old American girl named Daisy (Saorise Ronan) sent to the English countryside to stay with her cousins for the summer only have to fight to survive when a nuclear bomb hits London.   Daisy has the insecurities of the usual female teenager and she falls in love with Edmund (George MacKay) as she warms to the beautiful surrounding as the chaos falling on the UK closes in on the countryside home where Daisy, her cousins, and Edmund are staying.   She also bonds with one of her cousins, a young girl.   When she and Edmund are separated, they make a promise to get back to each other at the countryside home

 

HOW I LIVE NOW builds with unease and builds the relationships of Daisy, Edmund, and her cousins in the isolated countryside to have them thrust into a fight for survival as they must adjust to their new situations after the bomb has been dropped.  Saorise Ronan is fantastic as Daisy while Kevin MacDonald directs a drama that turns into an intense survival tale against some great cinematography (showing off Wales) mixed in with a good soundtrack and score.  This film intelligently portrays how teenagers and children would deal with surviving in a land thrown into chaos.   HOW I LIVE NOW can easily be compared to the 1970s series SUVIVORS if it was done as a feature film and trading the drop of the nuclear bomb for a deadly virus.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

MAKING OF HOW I LIVE NOW and AXS TV: A LOOK AT HOW I LIVE NOW are two short promotional featurettes with interviews and movie clips.

 

There are over 50 minutes of interviews with Director Kevin MacDonald, Producers Charles Steel and Alasdair Flind, actress Saorise Ronan, actors George MacKay and Tom Holland and Harley Bird, and author Meg Rosoff.   The most insightful interviews are with the director, the producers, and the author as they talk about how the project came together and the adaptation process while the actors talk about the characters and how it is to work with the director.

 

Four deleted scenes run for about five minutes in length and they are cut for pacing reasons.   Also included on the disc are behind-the-scenes comparisons of a few scenes (basically showing behind-the-scenes footage with the final scene), the theatrical trailer, and previews for MR. NOBODY and LAST DAYS ON MARS.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  HOW I LIVE NOW showcases another fab acting turn from Saorise Ronan.  This movie focuses on Daisy as you see the chaos through her eyes.   If you’re a fan of Ronan, check out this movie.  If you’re expecting a big movie, go elsewhere.  If you want a tense drama through the eyes of one person, HOW I LIVE NOW will fit the bill.

 

This blu-ray review is ©2-11-2013 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com