How I Live Now
Directed by Kevin Macdonald
Written by Jeremy Brock, Penelope Skinner, Tony Grisoni
The review:
While I could see what this movie was trying to do* it didn’t quite pull through, but I did appreciate it for showing war from a civilian perspective. All three leads have gone on to many good things** and it’s great to see these early performances. For anyone who ever wondering, “how would I adapt if my city was invaded during a war?” this provides some good insights.
The verdict: Good
Cost: $2.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home
Consider also watching:
Further sentences:
*Show how the average girls’ internal monologue is something akin to a mean girl whispering all the time and show how none of that matters when times get tough.
**I watched this because it was a Saoirse Ronan performance I hadn’t seen, but I was most intrigued to see Tom Holland. He’s tiny! Ironically, his real age when filming this movie from 2013 is two years older than the age his Spider-Man character is in Spider-Man Homecoming (2017). George MacKay was also the oldest boy in Captain Fantastic and one of the two soldiers carrying out the mission in 1917.
Questions:
- How do you feel about the ending?
- What act took the most bravery?
Favorite IMDB trivia item:
Director Kevin Macdonald chose to film the first half of this movie with a hand-held camera to give the paradise like–countryside home a sense of humanity, as though the camera was alive and breathing. The second half of this movie was shot in a more steady and smoother style to make the war-torn countryside more sharp and unforgiving, as though the camera was mechanical.
Other reviews of How I Live Now:
- Tasha Robinson, The Dissolve
- Cath Clarke, Time Out London
