The Rover

In the middle of all the big-budget summer flicks being offered, that we've seen or will be seeing, it's encouraging to find a small indie film, "The Rover" straight from down under which will keep one riveted to that theater seat as much as one of its big-budget counterparts.

Ten years after a global economic collapse, a cold-blooded drifter, Eric (Guy Pearce) traverses the scorched Australian outback on a mission to track down the men-- Henry (Scoot McNairy), Archie (David Field) and Caleb (Tawanda Manyimo) who stole his last remaining possession-- his car. When he inadvertently crosses paths with a badly wounded member of the gang, Rey (Robert Pattinson) who he finds out Rey is Henry's younger brother, Eric takes the vulnerable, naïve young man along with him as his unwitting accomplice. Eric's original intent on bringing Rey with him and not killing him is that Rey has to take Eric to his brother, because Eric is not as familiar with the outback territory. So as they take this incredibly torturous 'road trip', they learn more about each other so as to come to a place of a restrained understanding.

Others to round out the cast are Gillian Jones as Grandma, Susan Prior as Dr. Dorothy Peeples, Anthony Hayes as Sgt. Rick Rickoffersen, Jamie Fallon as Colin, Richard Green as Storekeeper, Ethan Hanslow as Hanging Gardens Boy, Jacky Mayo as Fuel Seller and Scott Perry as Dying Soldier.

This was directed with incredible grit and intensity by David Michod ("Solitary Endeavor on the Southern Ocean" (Documentary) '08, "Animal Kingdom" '10). What made this intense drama different than that of "Mad Max", or something like "The Book of Eli" and even "Drive" is that the two lead characters in this play very underlying roles instead of other the top roles where all pandemonium breaks loose. This is not only the mark of skilled directing, but also talented acting as well. Both Pearce and Pattinson simply shined in this gripping thriller. It was written by Michod based on a story by Joel Edgerton and Michod. With the exception of a couple of slow parts in plot (it seemed a little long in the tooth), it was still riveting enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. This is not a warm and fuzzy feeling film--I was certainly hard-pressed to feel sorry for any of these characters, however I'm sure this was the intent of the writer.
One of the stars of this was of the cinematographer, Natasha Braier, adf ("RedMeanGo" '05, "Glue" '06, "XXY" '07, "In the City of Sylvia" '07, "Somers Town" '08, "Dolce vita africana"  (Documentary) '08, "The Milk of Sorrow" '09, "The Infidel" '10, "Chinese Puzzle" '13) plus tons of shorts. The photography showcased the grit and 'dirtiness' of this film amazingly well.

If this premise is something that's not your thing--this certainly is not for everyone, then you've got to see it for the performances by both Pearce and Pattinson. These two consummate actors will be worth the price of admission alone.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                              Rated: R                              102mins.