Review of The Rover (2014) by Jack W — 27 Sep 2014

Robert Pattinson sure has tried his hardest to stop being known as the guy from those shitty Twilight movies. He'll never succeed because that's what pretty much made him famous and, unless, he finds himself starring in a movie series that's bigger than Twilight, then he'd still be known for that first and foremost, however unfortunate that is.

For my money, and I believe I've always said this even since his Twilight days, that I think the guy had potential. Raw potential that probably didn't manifest itself in the most opportune way possible in the Twilight series.

It, to me, was just a matter of finding the right role for the guy. With that said, this role isn't gonna win him any major awards, but the guy certainly shows that he's more talented that he got the chance to show in the films he's most famous for.

His character, in this film, is more of a simpleton who's very easily manipulable due to his, obvious, mental deficiencies. Personally I think the character comes across as a bit of a muppet sometimes, someone to feel sorry for.

I think that's a bit of a combination of the script and Rob's performance as well. But, with that, said I still think he does quite a good job. The film, sadly, never really clicks as a coherent narrative.

The story is fairly straightforward. Eric, Guy Pearce, has his car stolen by three criminals and he decides to go after them to get it back. On the way he meets up with Rey, one of the criminal's brother, and decides to hold him 'hostage' to take him to his brother to retrieve his car.

Essentially that's the outline of the film. Problem is that the film, in some regards, focuses too much on how it used to be, since it is set 10 years after the "collapse", without actually telling youwhat happened.

I don't exactly have a problem with this vague storytelling, but I kinda wished you were left to figure it out for your own, instead of being given backstory without really telling you what actually happened.

It's obvious that whatever happened has left the world, or at least Australia, in a state of shambles, where people struggle to make a decent living and distrust is rampant. I didn't really have much of a problem with this as I made it out to be, but it is a little frustrating, particularly with the film's pacing, which is another part of the film that I wasn't a big fan of.

I don't think you could've edited the film down without sacrificing some important part in the story, but the film being as bleak as it is combined with the pacing, it's gonna be rough going for some people.

But, regardless of that, I still enjoyed the movie. There's an air of authenticity. If you're gonna make a post-apocalyptic, then setting it in Southern Australia, with the barren and deserted lands, is an ideal place to shoot the film.

The tone of the film is bleak, but it certainly fits with the type of story that is being told. There's a world-weariness to every character in the film, like they're just tired of being alive in this world.

I think it's one of the few post-apocalyptic movies I've seen where survival isn't really even the most important thing in peoples' minds. I can't imagine anyone looking forward to living in this world for one more day, much less for 10 years.

People die in this world, nobody bats an eye...nobody really cares because it, unfortunately, doesn't even matter. This goes back to a scene where Eric, a man with a dark past, remembers something he did just after the collapse and the fact that nobody really even cared.

How nothing mattered anymore and that's what really bothered him, even more so than the act he committed, it's the fact that nobody asked questions, that he won't have to live with the consequences.

And that's the world they live in currently. That bleakness might be off-putting for some, but I think it definitely worked for this film. This movie is better than the rating implied, it's just that I don't feel that the narrative ever really clicked as well as it could've.

While the acting is good, I never really felt that Eric was anything more than a one-dimensional character. I know I'm supposed to think that this world has made him this way, but it didn't come across that way.

I realize the character has some depth, but the movie doesn't always do a good job at showcasing that. This is a very flawed film as you can see, but I still thought it was quite good. Better than the rating implies, as mentioned.

Might not be everybody's cup of tea, but this is a solid rental in my opinion.