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
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