Everybody knows that I am not the world’d biggest Robert Pattinson fan.  But when Guy Pearce makes a movie, you go and see it.  As usual (it’s quickly becoming my M.O.), I didn’t know anything about this movie except for the tidbits that I could glean from the teaser poster.  So it’s set in a desert, and Guy Pearce looks angry at Robert Pattinson who looks sleepy.

Looks interesting enough.

Here’s my round-up of David Michod (Animal Kingdom)’s The Rover.

Please note that there may be spoilers.  Read at your own risk.

THE STORY:

The story opens up somewhere in the most arid part of Australia, a decade after the global economic collapse, with (I kid you not) a man walking into a bar.  This man is named Eric (Guy Pearce – Memento) and it is clear that he does not want to be bothered: no, he doesn’t care about your problems, he’s only there to enjoy his drink.  Of course his peace is quickly disrupted when three men – Archie (David Field – Two Hands), Caleb (Tawanda Manyimo – Monkeys Don’t Mix) and an heavily injured and distraught Henry (Scoot McNairy – 12 Years A Slave) – crash their truck and opt to steal Eric’s sedan.

Eric, in a fit of blind rage, decides to go after the three criminals and get his car back.  He chances upon  an almost dead Rey (Robert Pattinson – Water For Elephants), Henry’s half-wit of a brother who was apparently left there to die, and ends up saving his life in exchange for information on the whereabouts of the men who stole his only posession in the world.

They quickly form an unusual bond en route to find the men who did them both wrongs.

THE GOOD:

1. The tension.  There was no moment in the whole film that wasn’t drawn out like a bow string about to snap.  Muchos kudos to the director for being able to sustain such intensity for over a hundred minutes. I was on the edge of my seat more than when I sat down to see Deliver Us From Evil.  Both the film’s coloring and the fact that you don’t know who’s going to shoot who and where reminds me of No Country For Old Men.
2. Guy Pearce .  Something has to be said about an actor that can carry the whole film by his lonesome.  There weren’t very many lines for him to deliver, but I guess in retrospect his caliber of acting really didn’t need much words.  You can feel the range boiling underneath his skin just by the tiniest tightening of his jaw.  It was such a precisely controlled performance that in the end, with that (arguably ridiculous) endinf, everyrthing still fell into place and you go “okay”.
3. Robert Pattinson mostly because this is probably his least glamourous role.  I’ve always been of the belief that he couldn’t act, but I guess I was proven wrong.  He’s brought out an innocence to Rey that, had it not been present, the whole story would’ve collapsed in on itself.  He’s truly found his calling in playing extremely intellectually slow Americans.  Although I must say that his facial reactions – slow blinking, blank stares, lip biting – reminded me of Kristen Stewart.  Maybe she was the inspiration?
4. The ending.  I can see how movie goers like my brother would probably flip the proverbial table when they reach the end, but personally I liked it.  If you’re stuck in a desert with nothing else to live for or fear,that sort of reaction really does make sense.

THE BAD:

1. The missing altercation.  I’m nitpicking but I wish there was some sort of a flashback scene that showed how Rey got injured.  Obviously the film can stand up well without it, but it would’ve been nice.
2. The economic collapse backstory.  Same as above.

THE UGLY:
None.  I really liked it.

All in all The Rover was an extremely enjoyable film.  I was expecting a superb performance from Guy Pearce but I was pleasantly shocked by the amount of acting chops that Robert Pattinson apparently possesses.  I thoroughly enjoyed the tension, and even though I basically had my eyes partially covered for most of the film (I’m a wuss), I reveled in the ‘whole would he shoot him now or later’ type of dilemma.  Call me a romantic but I also happen to think that this is probably one of the more optimistic films I’ve seen about human nature.

THE VERDICT: 9/10.  Veery good movie.

*All photos are lifted from the film’s IMDB page.