57
Metascore
29 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlTender, 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.
- 75The PlaylistThe PlaylistMacdonald’s unique direction and Ronan’s jittery performance makes the film a worthy watch
- 70VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangWisely 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.
- 60The GuardianHenry BarnesThe GuardianHenry BarnesA gooey love story is pitted against the end of the world. No wonder the romance comes up wanting.
- 60EmpireOlly RichardsEmpireOlly RichardsMacdonald's film is a noble stab at bringing Meg Rosoff's YA novel to the screen, which sees Ronan in typically watchable form.
- 60Time Out LondonCath ClarkeTime Out LondonCath ClarkeKevin Macdonald’s slightly drab adaptation of Meg Rosoff’s popular teen novel would be nothing without Saoirse Ronan.
- 60Total FilmTotal FilmAn 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.
- 50Film.comJordan HoffmanFilm.comJordan HoffmanFor every poignant moment there’s a gaudy dream sequence, wretched internal monologue, ham-fisted zoom or an exchange of dialogue sorely lacking nuance.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyWhat starts as potentially interesting apocalyptic speculative fiction devolves into dreary sub-Hunger Games survivalism and banal teen romance.
- 50Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenThere are a few effectively disquieting sequences early on, but the film never recovers from director Kevin Macdonald's indifferent staging of a pivotal moment.