Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Beautifully constructed, and always wistful, this enchanting little film features hard choices (not always wise ones), an air of dread and strong acting. Ronan centers the film as her character goes from cranky kid to driven survivor. The failure to explain the background in more detail is not a failure at all. It is not relevant for anything more than was portrayed. It just gets the story started. This is about the characters and their will to survive.There aren't many wrongs here and the film's refusal to fix all problems increases the sense of loss and admiration for the courage of Ronan's character. Well done.

Thought the story line was very good. I expected the film to be longer and thought it would go into more dept. The start to where they get taken I also thought was going to be longer thought we would get to see her adapt to her life more before they got taken away. Would have been good it we see what the girls life was like more when there where took. Thought we would have gotten to see what happened they boys and how Eddie made it home. I think the film would have been much better if we got to see these things and how they felt with life after they made it home if we saw more . Was very disappointed in the movie. Think these things would have made it so much better

Somehow this movie escaped my attention for a few years. I love it when I find a sleeper that is really good - Spartan with Val Kilmer comes to mind.This movie runs the whole gamut of emotions, from the pleasantness of being in the beautiful English countryside, to the evil side of mankind. The story, acting, cinematography, everything was just great!

How I Live Now is a frank, depressing but beautiful to look at vision of the start of a global disaster and how it affects people. Saoirse Ronan, an actress who impresses me more and more every time I see her in increasingly interesting projects, is perfect in the lead role. She's Daisy, a timid, oddball American girl with some form of OCD, who travels to the remote English countryside to stay with her aunt, cousins and friends in a cottage. She's somewhat of a dysfunctional girl, and initially is antisocial and confrontational towards her cousins, until the quiet, adventurous Eddie (George Mckay) sort of breaks her out of her shell. The romance that eventually blossoms between them is organically acted and lovely to watch. But trouble is on the horizon, in the form of some sort of nuclear crisis, involving ruthless foreign invaders, mass water contamination and uprooting of British citizens from their homes. We don't get any idea of what exactly the matter is, just hushed whispers from overheard phone calls her aunt is making to government reps that she works for. When she leaves them, they are mired in the country with no clue what to do or where to turn. When invaders drive them on a cross country journey to escape persecution and strife, the film flips over from its naive, picturesque opening and thrums with a very real feeling of danger and incredibly realistic depictions of atrocities that children/teenagers of that age shouldn't have to witness. It almost mirrors the loss of innocence we all experience, sometimes at all too young an age. They eventually get separated and must find each other, and a way out of the danger, back to their home. The filmmakers respect the gravity of the situation they are telling a story about, and don't sugarcoat anything. This results in some really horrible stuff that our heroes run into along the way, with scenes that don't shy away from the R rated stuff, despite there being kids involved. This is a brave move, and makes us more invested in what's going on because of this stark unwillingness to censor anything. This ain't no Hunger Games, folks. The flipside to that though, is the gorgeous cinematography and uplifting, ethereal soundtrack. Despite being about human suffering, it's an all out work of art in the sights and sounds department, the stunning countryside and warm, cozy house juxtaposed with the barren, unfamiliar compounds, grey forests and bereft towns that come later on. It's always awesome to see life at it's worst and best, both done well in and film. Bravo. There's young love too, of course. Marred by this maelstrom they are thrust into, but strong enough and well written enough to be yet another realistic, believable facet of the piece.