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IMDbPro

How I Live Now

  • 20132013
  • RR
  • 1h 41m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
30K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,456
367
Saoirse Ronan in How I Live Now (2013)
An American girl on holiday in the English countryside with her family finds herself in hiding and fighting for her survival as the third world war breaks out.
Play trailer2:14
2 Videos
38 Photos
ActionAdventureDrama
An American girl, sent to the English countryside to stay with relatives, finds love and purpose while fighting for her survival as war envelops the world around her.An American girl, sent to the English countryside to stay with relatives, finds love and purpose while fighting for her survival as war envelops the world around her.An American girl, sent to the English countryside to stay with relatives, finds love and purpose while fighting for her survival as war envelops the world around her.
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
30K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,456
367
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Kevin Macdonald
    • Writers
      • Meg Rosoff(based on the novel by)
      • Jeremy Brock(screenplay by)
      • Penelope Skinner(screenplay by)
    • Stars
      • Saoirse Ronan
      • Tom Holland
      • George MacKay
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Kevin Macdonald
    • Writers
      • Meg Rosoff(based on the novel by)
      • Jeremy Brock(screenplay by)
      • Penelope Skinner(screenplay by)
    • Stars
      • Saoirse Ronan
      • Tom Holland
      • George MacKay
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 112User reviews
    • 132Critic reviews
    • 57Metascore
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 8 nominations

    Videos2

    Theatrical Trailer
    Trailer 2:14
    Theatrical Trailer
    International Trailer
    Trailer 2:05
    International Trailer

    Photos38

    Saoirse Ronan in How I Live Now (2013)
    Saoirse Ronan and Harley Bird in How I Live Now (2013)
    George MacKay and Saoirse Ronan in How I Live Now (2013)
    George MacKay and Saoirse Ronan in How I Live Now (2013)
    Saoirse Ronan in How I Live Now (2013)
    Saoirse Ronan in How I Live Now (2013)
    Kevin Macdonald in How I Live Now (2013)
    Saoirse Ronan at an event for How I Live Now (2013)
    Saoirse Ronan in How I Live Now (2013)
    How I Live Now (2013)
    George MacKay and Saoirse Ronan in How I Live Now (2013)
    George MacKay and Saoirse Ronan in How I Live Now (2013)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Saoirse Ronan
    Saoirse Ronan
    • Daisy
    Tom Holland
    Tom Holland
    • Isaac
    George MacKay
    George MacKay
    • Eddie
    Harley Bird
    • Piper
    Danny McEvoy
    • Joe
    Anna Chancellor
    Anna Chancellor
    • Aunt Penn
    Jonathan Rugman
    • News Reporter
    Corey Johnson
    Corey Johnson
    • Consular Official
    Darren Morfitt
    • Sergeant
    Stella Gonet
    Stella Gonet
    • Mrs. McEvoy
    Des McAleer
    • Major McEvoy
    Sophie Stanton
    Sophie Stanton
    • Woman in Truck
    Natasha Jonas
    Natasha Jonas
    • Woman in Truck
    Nav Sidhu
    • Checkpoint Soldier
    Amy Dawson
    • Beaten Woman
    Mark Stanley
    Mark Stanley
    • Chasing Man 1
    Paul Ronan
    Paul Ronan
    • Chasing Man 2
    Tony Arvanitis
    • Soldier
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Kevin Macdonald
    • Writers
      • Meg Rosoff(based on the novel by)
      • Jeremy Brock(screenplay by)
      • Penelope Skinner(screenplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Kevin Macdonald had originally intended the cast to be all unknown or amateur actors and actresses and was looking for an American girl, around sixteen-years-old to play Daisy, but cast Irish nineteen-year-old Saoirse Ronan instead, after her audition, reading a scene which left them in tears.
    • Goofs
      At 28:37, Isaac leaps over the couch (holding a flashlight) and lands comfortably seated, a quick-action scene completed with two different camera angles. In the first, Eddie is watching Isaac's antics, while in the second, Eddie is instead looking down at his radio.
    • Quotes

      Daisy: Before the war I used my willpower for stupid stuff, like not eating chocolate. I think I thought if I could control myself, then maybe the world around me would start to make sense. I guess I was pretty naive back then.

    • Connections
      Featured in Projector: How I Live Now (2013)
    • Soundtracks
      Do It With A Rockstar
      Written by Amanda Palmer

      Performed by Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra

    User reviews112

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    It's not Hanna; it's not 28 Days Later; it's a teen romance.
    "In no order of things is adolescence the time of the simple life." Janet Erskine Stuart

    Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) is sweet 16 but not so sweet. Filled with teen angst and disgust for kids and adults alike in How I Live Now, she visits the English countryside for a summer with her relatives. Soon she falls in love and the world falls apart.

    A terrorist-nuked London and subsequent military state make the second half of this film move at twice the speed of the first half. The second-half has the deadly-virus feel of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later—but not enough—and echoes of Ronan's teen survivor in Hanna—but not enough.

    At what point Daisy becomes a survivalist par excellence is never clear; it just happens. Her accurately handling a gun is a miracle for a NYC teen who probably never touched one before. Her change from isolated, grumpy teen to loving, engaged heroine is too swift to be believed. The first half is consumed by her love affair (16 years old—yikes!) with resident hunk, Eddie (George Mackay).

    Let me tell you, teen passion has little to commend it, and even spunky Ronan has difficulty making me care about it. Yet this love is the frame of the film as she leads her younger cousin Piper (Harley Bird) back home from the compound for sequestered rural residents in her hope to reunite with Eddie.

    This romance gives me pause about the Hunger Games, whose young love now seems mature by contrast.

    If How I Live Now is a metaphoric treatise on Eve's journey out of paradise or teens' need to engage their natural instincts and chuck the superficiality of urban life, then the film has succeeded. Those lofty themes are not helped by the disjointed narrative and silly romance.

    Surviving a nuclear attack is subject enough.
    helpful•13
    17
    • jdesando
    • Nov 17, 2013

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 4, 2013 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Canada
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Làm Thế Nào Để Sống
    • Filming locations
      • Wales, UK
    • Production companies
      • Film4
      • BFI Film Fund
      • Protagonist Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $8,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $60,213
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $28,547
      • Nov 10, 2013
    • Gross worldwide
      • $925,762
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 41 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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