How I Live Now
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: November 8, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
15
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlNov 5, 2013
Tender, humane, and searing, How I Live Now stands as something all too rare: a movie about young people that young people may love — but not one that lies to them, and not one built for them alone. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaNov 8, 2013
How I Live Now takes some frightening, gruesome turns. In tone and terror, it comes close to matching the jumpy dread of Danny Boyle's British Isles virus thriller "28 Days Later." Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnNov 6, 2013
Macdonald's movie is a kind of fairy tale. While in the Marvel franchises, the good guys always win, The House I Live In explores the far more tangible process of simply remaining alive at all costs -- and finding, against impossible odds, justification for living through another day. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyNov 8, 2013
It's strong stuff, and the actors are fully up to it. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesBill StametsNov 8, 2013
Set in England, the dystopic “Brazil” and “28 Days Later” both ended with pastoral idylls for adult couples. How I Live Now offers adolescents a lovely vision of holistic healing in the same countryside. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianMarc MohanNov 7, 2013
The result calls to mind “Lord of the Flies” and “Children of Men,” even if the film’s second half is much less compelling than its first. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedNov 5, 2013
In a movie without adults, the children are spontaneous and natural. And Ms. Ronan is captivating throughout. Read full review
75
The PlaylistCharlie SchmidlinSep 17, 2013
Macdonald’s unique direction and Ronan’s jittery performance makes the film a worthy watch Read full review
70
VarietyJustin ChangSep 17, 2013
Wisely sticks to its protagonist’s p.o.v. while avoiding a longer view of the calamitous events around her, making up in emotional immediacy what it lacks in broad dramatic sweep. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Nov 6, 2013
Ronan acquits herself nicely. Believable as both a smitten leading lady and a resourceful action heroine, she’s the ideal young-adult starlet — though after this and "The Host," maybe it’s time the actress lent her piercing baby blues to a plain old adult project again. Read full review
65
NPRMark JenkinsNov 8, 2013
Because it serves up Armageddon with a side order of teen romance, How I Live Now is not always credible. But as a portrait of a surly 16-year-old whose internal crisis is overtaken by an external one, the movie is persuasive. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Geoff PevereNov 14, 2013
As a dystopian teen movie, Macdonald’s adaptation of Meg Rosoff’s young adult novel is refreshingly free of digital apocalyptics and unnervingly prone to random violence. Read full review
63
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreNov 5, 2013
The film stumbles into a cross-country odyssey that dominates its last third. That is fascinating, but not properly set up, much like the film itself. How I Live Now skips over the “How,” loses itself in the “I” and never lets the pathos of “Live Now” pay off. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisNov 7, 2013
As sun-dappled infatuation abruptly crashes into post-apocalyptic survival, Mr. Macdonald struggles to balance a nebulous narrative on tentpole moments of rich emotional resonance. Read full review
60
The DissolveTasha RobinsonNov 6, 2013
Part of the point may be how trauma simplifies life by stripping away everything inessential, but just as there’s little satisfaction in watching Daisy pursue an unworthy goal, there’s little satisfaction in watching a specific, colorful, keenly felt portrait become such a familiar story. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfNov 6, 2013
How I Live Now goes to that nuclear nightmare, and Ronan, who can’t hide her smarts even when the role isn’t as good as the one she had in "Atonement," makes a feast of the journey. Read full review
60
Total FilmEmma MorganOct 5, 2013
An Arab Spring-y allegory with kissing cousins and a divine countryside setting, Kevin Macdonald’s fourth narrative film is an awkward oddity, as uncomfortable in its own skin as its protagonist. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonCath ClarkeOct 1, 2013
Kevin Macdonald’s slightly drab adaptation of Meg Rosoff’s popular teen novel would be nothing without Saoirse Ronan. Read full review
60
EmpireOlly RichardsSep 30, 2013
Macdonald's film is a noble stab at bringing Meg Rosoff's YA novel to the screen, which sees Ronan in typically watchable form. Read full review
60
The GuardianHenry BarnesSep 17, 2013
A gooey love story is pitted against the end of the world. No wonder the romance comes up wanting. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn HornadayNov 7, 2013
Macdonald (“The Last King of Scotland,” “State of Play”) does a passable job of evoking post-apocalyptic atmosphere in How I Live Now, although the film suffers from uneven tone — is it a teen romance or wartime adventure? — and, ultimately, a regrettable lack of focus. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrNov 7, 2013
A meticulously observed, rapturously directed account of World War III and its aftermath as seen from the point of view of a spoiled young woman. The movie’s pretty fascinating before it goes bonkers. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 7, 2013
Imagine a Judy Blume rewrite of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," and you'll end up somewhere in the ashen yet uplifting vicinity of How I Live Now. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChuck BowenNov 5, 2013
There are a few effectively disquieting sequences early on, but the film never recovers from director Kevin Macdonald's indifferent staging of a pivotal moment. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthySep 17, 2013
What starts as potentially interesting apocalyptic speculative fiction devolves into dreary sub-Hunger Games survivalism and banal teen romance. Read full review
50
Film.comJordan HoffmanSep 17, 2013
For every poignant moment there’s a gaudy dream sequence, wretched internal monologue, ham-fisted zoom or an exchange of dialogue sorely lacking nuance. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNov 8, 2013
A frosty-eyed, imperturbable actress in “Atonement,” “Hanna” and “The Host,” Ronan is at least able to sell Daisy’s new focus while the movie loses its own. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternNov 7, 2013
The production feels tentative and underpopulated: I thought not only of Katniss Everdeen but of the marvelous pandemonium in Danny Boyle's zombie epic "28 Days Later." Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleNov 14, 2013
Drama is as much about perspective as it is about events, and the angle provided by How I Live Now turns out to be self-defeating. Read full review
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