The Rover (4 Stars)

This is an Australian film made in 2014, starring Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson. When the film began and the introductory text "10 years after the collapse" flashed on the screen, I groaned. "Not another dystopian film!" I thought to myself. They're usually full of absurd speculation about what might be the case after society as we know it has collapsed. It's a concept that rarely works. "Planet of the Apes" (the 1968 film) is a rare example of a successful dystopian film.

I needn't have worried. The dystopia in "The Rover" isn't exaggerated. There's no nuclear fallout causing absurd mutations. It's a collapse of law and order, but Australian society still exists. There's still a police force, even though it seems to be fighting a losing battle against armed criminals and vigilantes.

Four men carry out an armed robbery. One of them (Ray) is shot badly and left behind when the other three flee. One of the other three is Ray's brother, and he argues in the car about whether it was right to leave Ray behind. He starts a fight, which leads to the their truck swerving off the road. They can't start the car again, so they steal the nearest car they see and drive off.

The car belongs to Eric, a man who used to be a farmer, but now seems to be doing nothing. He's angry about the theft of his car. He manages to start the robbers' truck, and he pursues them.

In the meantime, the badly wounded Ray manages to find a car and follow his brothers. He sees the truck and accuses Eric of stealing it. Eric takes Ray to a doctor, then demands that he take him to where the robbers live. Ray isn't completely unwilling. He wants revenge for being left to die.

What follows is a road movie through the desolate Australian outback. Everyone they meet is poor, struggling to make an existence.

Eric, played by Guy Pearce, is fiercely intense. He only speaks when it's absolutely necessary. He has a past which is only partially revealed; the viewer is left to fill in the blanks. Ray, played by Robert Pattinson, is an American who's come to Australia to find work, suggesting that the economic collapse is global, not just an Australian issue. Like most Britons who pretend to be Americans, he has an annoying accent which can't always be understood. After having to pause and repeat a few sections of dialogue, I decided to turn on the subtitles.

This isn't an uplifting film. Eric is a cold-blooded person who doesn't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in his way. The only humanity he shows is when he tells Ray, "You should never stop thinking about a life you've taken. That's the price you pay for taking it". Maybe that's why he's so quiet. He has a lot of lives to think about. Ray is a more pleasant person that we can almost but not quite sympathise with. Like Eric, Ray's background is only revealed in subtle hints, but we get the impression that he was drawn into a life of crime by his older brother.

A friend of mine calls "The Rover" a masterpiece. I wouldn't go that far, but it's still a very good film.

Success Rate:  - 2.7

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de