HOW I LIVE NOW (2013)

In How I Live Now, Saoirse Ronan vividly brings to life an isolated American teenager, Daisy, who is sent to stay with distant relatives in the English countryside by an indifferent father.  A loner still hurting over the death of her mother, Daisy is hostile to her foreign cousins (whose own mother works in a high-level government position, so is rarely around) until drawn out of her shell by handsome cousin Eddie (George MacKay) and his younger brother and sister ... just in time for England to be attacked as the world breaks out into war.  Forced into separation from her male cousins (who will be trained to enter the war), only her young cousin Piper at her side, Daisy fights not only to survive ... but to be reunited with her new-found family, taken from her just as she's found both love and a purpose in life.  Thanks to the always-brilliant Ronan it's Daisy's story of growth all the way, a simple and artful indie film well worth seeing. (rated R)  ****

HOW I LIVE NOW trailer