It was directed by Kevin Macdonald, written by Tony Grisoni, Jeremy Brock and Penelope Skinner while starring Saoirse Ronan, George MacKay, Tom Holland, Harley Bird, Anna Chancellor and Corey Johnson.

The film centres around American teenager, Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) and her British cousins, Eddie (MacKay), Isaac (Holland), and Piper (Bird), as they try to reunite during an apocalyptic nuclear war.

Sometime in the future, Elizabeth 'Daisy' Rybeck, an irritable, neurotic American teenager, is sent by her father David to the English countryside for the summer to stay with her Aunt Penn and her three cousins: Eddie, Isaac, and Piper.

Daisy arrives at Heathrow Airport to tightened security and reports of a bombing in Paris and is greeted by Isaac, who drives her to their farm.

Shortly after her arrival, Penn flies to Geneva to attend an emergency conference because she is an expert in terrorist extremist groups.

The children's summer fun ends when terrorists detonate a nuclear bomb in London that kills tens of thousands.

An American consular official offers Daisy safe passage home but she decides to stay, set upon her love for Eddie.

Later, the girls are on the verge of giving up when they see Eddie's pet hawk fly overhead and follow it back home.

The next morning, Daisy follows the dog into the woods, where she finds Eddie lying unconscious, his face and hands scarred and his eyes swollen shut.

The site's consensus states: "Led by another strong performance from Saoirse Ronan and a screenplay that subverts YA clichés, How I Live Now blends young love with post-apocalyptic drama.

[10] He wrote that the "role of Daisy likely wouldn't have worked with a less capable actress at the helm, and Ronan, whose recent performances in films like Hanna and The Host have proven her willing to get her hands dirty, gives flesh, ferocity and weight to the character's many transformations, from sullen ingrate to loving cousin, from passionate lover to Katniss Everdeen-style heroine".

"[11] Jeanette Catsoulis of The New York Times wrote that the film "struggles to balance a nebulous narrative on tentpole moments of rich emotional resonance.