How I Live Now

From our first introduction to her, it’s clear that Elisabeth (Saoirse Ronan) is not your average teenager. Plagued by doubts and insecurities that manifest through a constant stream of jumbled and confusing thoughts, she puts up a hostile front to mask these insecurities. On top of all this, she is being sent into an unfamiliar environment, her aunt’s farm in England (she’s American) The England we see her entering is like ours but is clearly very different as illustrated by her trip through customs. Eye scanners and fingerprint readers are present among the normal security checks and soldiers stand alert on guard against possible threats. Just what these threats are is kept as background noise and for the first half the film focuses on Daisy and her relationship with her cousins - Issac (Tom Holland), Piper (Harley Bird) and Edmund (George Mackay). It is Edmund who helps Elisabeth out of her shell when he begins a romantic relationship with her cousin (not a common big screen pairing ). This happiness is shattered, however, when the background tension explodes into armed conflict, starting with a nuclear device being detonated. Let’s start with the good; Saoirse Ronana’s central performance is very strong. She gives depth to what might otherwise simply be a batty and whiny teenager and allows us to see the emotional pain running beneath the surface. Her co-stars give good performances as well, of particular note being young Harley Bird who has to act in and deal with subject matter far beyond her character’s years, which she rises to admirably. The one weak link is George Mackay’s Edmund, this may not be Mackay’s fault, the part as written feels a little bland, he’s less like a person than a goal, something for Elisabeth to aim for. Also on the positive side is the film’s visuals which are used very effectively to set the tone; from the sunlit and cheery farm to the grimness of the government camp. Most effective is the wide open English countryside which seems to stretch endlessly. There are, however, problems - the way in which the nature of the war is kept vague is both a blessing and a curse to the film. On the one hand it allows us to concentrate on our protagonists, on the other hand it leaves the world the film takes place in feeling half complete. When we do see “the enemy” they feel more like generic movie thugs than a genuine threat. Pacing is also a problem, the ending feels rather rushed and it might have benefited from a slower more nuanced ending. FINAL VERDICTS 6/10 the concept is interesting and the film is entertaining but you can’t help but feel that more could have been gotten from it