Review of The Rover (2014) by Lee P — 29 Nov 2014

Extremely well made but otherwise, very disappointing. "The Rover" proves to be pointless and nihilistic, carrying a wildly negative message regarding humanity. There is a grocery list of things that irritated me about this film.

In "The Rover" a plot isn't very abundant, and due to this non-existent plot, the plot points that this film makes have nothing to stand upon, these plot points seem to appear and evaporate without any elaboration on them whatsoever, the film was more focused on the statement it was making, rather then developing it's characters or expanding on a storyline.

The statement this film makes, though it is thought provoking, is so nihilistic and negative, it ironically makes me think "what's the point". This film doesn't have much to work with other than it's rather depressing outlook on humanity.

Another problem is the fact that this film begins and ends absurdly abruptly, it lacks a rising action, a climax and a conclusion, and by the end, there was no closure, it didn't end, nor did it begin, there wasn't much if not any character buildup, making the characters not relatable and irrelevant, the only thing these characters are useful for is getting the point this film makes across.

This film just turns out to be as pointless as it thinks life is. Another aspect of the film that infuriated me adds to the whole "lack of plot" statement I made, "The Rover" after a while begins to rub off as extremely repetitive, adding to yet another statement I must make which is the fact that the film carries an absurdly underwhelming climax, a climax that is basically the same thing we saw throughout the film, like I said: repetitive.

However, this film, despite being underwhelming, was very well made, containing some of the most dazzling cinematography of the year, yet another thing used as an tool to convey the meaning of the film, using lengthy shots of desolate landscapes and wildlife, sending off vibes of loneliness and desperation.

This film also contains a very strange but truly hypnotic and experimental score. Guy Pearce provides a typically marvelous rage filled and emotional performance that I will remember for years to come.

As for Robert Pattinson, he was okay, though throughout the film his character just rubs off as dimwitted. I believe that this film will be analyzed in the years to come, and as much as I adore analytical films, this one was just underwhelming.