![]() The serial was first broadcast on the BBC and was directed by David Yates, written by Andrew Davies and produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark. ![]() ![]() For myself, I found the way that the Daisy character softens, and acknowledges her love for oldest cousin Eddie (who's gentle and has know-how and has raised a hawk, even, but also isn't terribly cool-headed at times when it would count), right after the first horrific turn of events, to be kind of on the abrupt side.The Way We Live Now is a 2001 four-part television adaptation of the Anthony Trollope 1875 novel The Way We Live Now. Some cynics may observe that the end of the world as we know it is one hell of a time to find yourself, and object to the movie on some kind of moral ground as a result. (There are also hints, in its depiction of war from a young person's perspective, of Elem Klimov's remarkable masterpiece "Come And See.") The premise of experiencing an apocalyptic disaster from a far remove was famously explored in Andrei Tarkovsky's 1987 " The Sacrifice," itself a masterpiece of dread (and redemption) "How I Live Now" takes an approach that finds its poetry via the meticulous depiction of terrifying conditions complementing the story of a young woman finding herself. The only adult in the house happens to be a diplomat she flies off for an important conference, the kids are disturbed/exhilarated by a V-formation of fighter jets, and soon after that, the news comes that London's been nuked. The lyricism of the Wordsworth-worthy setting is underscored by a nice selection of English folk-rock on the soundtrack but soon an ominous electronic score by Jon Hopkins replaces the sounds of Fairport Convention and Nick Drake. In any event, Daisy is at first very reluctant indeed to join her young cousins in their little war games or forays to a gorgeous pond and waterfall near their rambling, cozy house. She does a lot more of course, and her character's petulance upon being exiled from New York to Britain to stay with cousins she barely knows has a particular quality that made me wonder whether she'd boned up on the role by studying the behavior some of her peers exhibit at press junkets. Now almost 20, Ronan has gotten tall, and her lovely face is long and lean she can imbue her disturbed adolescent character with a formidable intensity merely by cocking her head and looking down. The terrific young Irish actress Saoirse Ronan here plays Elizabeth, who insists on being called "Daisy," and whose problem-child status is established even before the opening credits begin: The nagging voices in her head are heard on the soundtrack even as the production company logos are unspooling. ![]() And indeed, for much of its running time the movie is grab-you-by-the-back-of-the-neck immediate in its last third particularly, the bite-your-lip moments of suspense and tension mount to the extent that you may well draw blood. So the fact that his latest film, "How I Live Now," adapted from a novel by Meg Rosoff, is about a band of teens and children in the British countryside trying to stay alive after London gets hit by a nuclear explosion bodes well for the quality of the film.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |