Critic Blog Watch: How I Live Now_Rex Reed

Critic Watch Blog: Rex Reed’s review of How I Live Now

I chose Rex Reed of the New York Observer. After reading his review of Gravity for our first assignment (Critic Watch) I appreciated how he, unlike many other critics, did not give Gravity the high marks that so many others did. Mr. Reed, who is 77 years old, maybe experienced at this craft, but he is also from a different era and perhaps, such high marks in film reviews do not come easy from this veteran reviewer. The chosen film here is: “How I Live Now” starring Saoirse Ronan. At the start, Reed highlights the film’s background and how Ronan, playing Daisy, a rebellious and Goth teenager, was transplanted from a very dangerous New York to the English countryside to live with her cousins. Reed paints a dysfunctional teenager uprooted from a modern, fast-paced life to the rural confines of a clutter-filled farm far away from her home. Reed also mentions the origin of the script, a 2004 award-winning novel by author Meg Rosoff, while explaining how the film is essentially divided into two parts: “Idyllic and lush” followed by “dark and terrifying” as the remaining government encapsulates the survivors of  nuclear war. Before Reed ends the review he gives examples of how the kids in this film (there are no adults in starring roles) must learn to survive and look after one another. It seems Reed is not necessarily enthralled with this film. Rather, he appreciates Ronan’s characters evolution illustrated by the sense of responsibility and determination she develops. This review is more about Ronan’s performance than the film itself. And while Reed agrees with the dangers of nuclear war and its environmental effects depicted in the film, he is more concerned with the trajectory of Ronan’s career.  

     

Throughout the review Reed portrays the main character and how she fits into the films story with her cousins. Though he is biased in favor of Ronan’s role he does give notice to her costars and the relationships they all develop. Another positive is that Reed tells his readers the story’s literary origin by giving credit to the author of the award winning novel, Meg Rosoff. By doing this he is concisely praises the authors work while reviewing the films adaptation of her novel. It is often said film adaptations are not always held in high regard or for accuracy. By doing this, Reed then goes onto explain what he dislikes the most about the film: That it leaves more questions than answers and an overall bleak picture is developed. But what’s cool about this review is this: You get a sense that Reed latches on to what he does like about the movie. He has high hopes for the career of Saoirse Ronan, an Oscar nominee at 13 years of age for her work in Atonement (2007). He parallels his high hopes for her career with the development of her character in How I Live Now. 

http://observer.com/2013/11/love-and-squalor-saoirse-ronan-is-a-luminous-presence-in-an-otherwise-gloomy-how-i-live-now/