The Rover

The reviews for this weren't exactly bad, or even mixed. But it did seem to get a lot of negative ones, and a lot of neutral, unpassionate ones. To my surprise, this is a fine film. Sure, not all that original, but the directing is really strong, as is the acting, Robert Pattinson, in particular, really shines and the best I've ever seen him be. Who knew he had this sort of performance in him, I certainly didn't, and it makes me interested in what he can accomplish in the future. Guy Pearce was strong too, with a pretty subdued, but very intense, character to play. The rest of the supporting players give some nice work too. Overall, I recommend this.

What a bleak future this film portrays.

Felt like an apocalyptic Western meets old school Road Warrior. Filmed in the Australian desert, I think they could have financed this film from loose change at starring actors Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson's houses.

Without a doubt the best performance from Robert Pattinson I've seen. Granted, I've not seen too many Pattinson films but he does a really good job of playing the half wit brother of one of the dudes jacked Guy's car.

Mysterious drifter shows up at the filthiest, dingiest outback pub in Australia just for a glass of water. Three shot up dudes in a truck crash outside the pub, steal his car and he will stop and nothing, nothing to get it back.

It's a wonderfully dreary world in which this film is set. Everyone is so dirty. They should get an Oscar for make up when all the actors did was not shower for what looks about three months.

Lots of long shots, tension filled chords supply the majority of the soundtrack.

I really dug it. Most folks are gonna hate it. Very gritty. Very dirty. Very violent. Very non-Hollywood.

It's a nice piece of cinema. And there's a midget.

THE ROVER is a quirky and interesting little Australian movie detailing the collapse of society after a major economic collapse (thus making it an extremely timely movie in these financially-wary years). That it manages to successfully depict a post-apocalyptic world of sorts on what is obviously a limited budget is testament to the skill of the director and his crew, particularly the location manager and set designer.

This is a slow and sombre production with shades of SNOWTOWN and THE ROAD, although unlike MACBETH, which I watched the day before, it's never boring or dull. The story is sparse and drawn out, as this is a real slow burner of a movie, and yet at the same time it keeps you gripped to the screen. It helps that the ever-underrated Guy Pearce is cast in the lead role and gives a typically engrossing portrayal of a flawed man with a single-minded purpose.

There are some brief action sequences in this film and even something approaching a car chase, but it's not really an action movie. It's more of a suspense thriller with the tension gradually building as things approach a devastating climax. And, it surprises me to admit it, by far the best thing in the film is the acting of the young lead, Robert Pattinson. This guy is completely unrecognisable as the guy who played Edward Cullen in the TWILIGHT series. He's quite brilliant, giving a wonderfully mannered and sympathetic performance of a simple man who ends up being used and abused by everyone around him, and his performance comes out of nowhere. It's as though Pattinson was bored with the plastic TWILIGHT films and wanted to do something the polar opposite in order to prove his worth as an actor. Well, he successfully does that, and then some; his performance is outstanding, and made the film for me.

In an extremely violent post-apocalyptic world where most human kindness and decency seems to have disappeared, a lone drifter hunts down a group of men who stole his car. That is, in a nutshell, the story of 'The Rover'.

The film is in many ways extremely nihilistic. There is little dialogue, the story takes place in the harsh and empty Australian desert, most characters are tough and tight-lipped, and the violence is abundant. This is at the same time the strength and the weakness of the film.

Watching it is an experience, many scenes are gripping and intense. But at times, I wished this would be a more 'normal' film, with more back story, more plot development, more dialogue. At the end, its slowness and weirdness got on my nerves. It is a very atmospheric film: the general mood of lawlessness, moral decay, and hopelessness is very captivating. But that in itself is not enough to carry the film. I would have liked a bit more explanation about why people act like they do.

One final remark: I was impressed by Robert Pattinson's acting. He plays a young man who seems to be not quite right in his head - an extremely demanding role.

A disheveled loner (Guy Pearce) trails a trio of thieves who stole his car. Along the way he picks up the slow-witted brother (Robert Pattinson) of one of the thieves. Dystopian future or post-apocalyptic movies kind of blend together after you've seen a lot of them. So when one comes along that feels fresh like this one, it deserves praise for that alone. The acting is excellent. Guy Pearce has long been an actor whose work I enjoy but the big surprise here is Robert Pattinson, who ensures with this performance that he will be remembered for more than the Twilight movies. Taut direction with quality acting, writing, and music. It's a good movie but not for everybody. Dark, gritty, often slow and certainly violent. But it's also very rewarding if you're wiling to give it a chance.