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| Bella and Edward |
It is ten years after the collapse, and the world seems to have gone to hell. We open up on a barren, desolate Australian terrain with Eric (Guy Pearce), our often silent eyes into this world, as he sits in a car seemingly waiting for time to pass. The Rover offers up another post-apocolyptic setting where each character seems to be looking out for themselves, and scrounging to survive. People will not hesitate to kill each other, as each day looks to be an inevitable countdown towards death.
When Eric's car is stolen by a trio of shady individuals on the run (Scoot McNairy, Tawanda Manyimo and David Field), he makes it his mission to get that car back at any cost. The trio, led by McNairy's Henry, manages him to give him the shake and get away. However, Eric is determined, as the car holds some kind of value to him, perhaps an attachment to his life before the collapse. It seems the car and men are long gone, when Eric happens across Rey (Robert Pattinson), Henry's younger brother who was thought dead in the events they were running from before stealing Eric's car. Yeah, The Rover is bleak, dark, violent and depressing, but wonderfully acted, directed and made.
In the lead role, Pearce does career best work as Eric. He is a no bullshit man, willing to get his hands dirty and seemingly fighting for a single unknown cause. Often known for playing more bookish or suave characters, Pearce really sinks his teeth into the role, bringing an aggression and power that he isn't typically known for. McNairy is also his reliable self in a small supporting role. He makes you think he is menacing, but clearly only is when he has to be and his kill-or-be-killed attitude is visible on his sleeve.
However, the big suprise for me was Pattinson, in a role so unlike what he is known for. Rey has a mental disability, and often has trouble stringing together numerous thoughts at once, but Pattinson makes you believe he has a kind heart, and is clearly in over his head, yet knows enough that he is a survivor. There is a level of performance and honesty that I've never seen from him as an actor, and I hope he gets more roles like this, as opposed to the team heartthrob roles that made him a star.
The film is beautiful made as well. It's directed by David Michod, who made the brilliant Animal Kingdom, and written by him and actor Joel Edgerton, who was in Animal Kingdom. The written never wastes any time, often getting to the point, and letting you get a feel for how the world is now. And the direction is on point as well. The film evokes the feeling of Children of Men and The Last of Us, and gives us a great take on a genre that has been done to death.
In the end, The Rover is a film that was clearly made for film audiences, and not general ones. It can feel slow at times, but constantly keeps you on edge if you invest, and doesn't let you figure how it's going to play out at any point.
Grade: A
