Short Take on ... How i Live Now

Every once in a while I see a movie that really captures my complete attention. Thats saying a lo n the crazy frenetic, distracted world we live in. How I Live Now is a British film based on the 2004 YA novel of the same name by Meg Rosoff. The heroine, Daisy (Saoirse Ronan), is sent by her father to live with her cousins in the country. She is resentful and haughty, but it is slowly revealed that the country is in turmoil and her exile is actually an attempt to protect her from an impending war.

The sullen Daisy has no idea hoe good her life is at the moment

What looks like snow is actually something more sinister

Daisy falls for her cousin Eddie, and the movie works as a teen wartime romance while also delving into the deeper themes of loss, trust, and survival. All of the actors are excellent. The film is quiet and beautiful, which makes some of its depictions of wartime violence even more jarring than if it had been done in a standard action-adventure mode. How I Live Now is set in the British near-future, but its story has echoes of the WW2 and other past conflicts. Its the sort of film that will grow more meaningful on subsequent viewings.