Director David Michôd’s debut feature length movie, Animal Kingdom, garnered a lot of praise from critics and audiences alike. Personally, I found it hard to engage with and enjoyed his follow up film, The Rover, which has had a much more mixed critical reaction.
The film is set 10 year after what an on screen caption describes as “the collapse”. It is not entirely clear what that entailed but the desolate landscapes of the Australian outback, the poverty and desperation of the inhabitants, and the near lawlessness give it a post-apocalyptic feel. Viewers could well be reminded of Mad Max, but my guess would be that it was more of a worldwide massive financial catastrophe.
Guy Pearce stars as Eric, first seen driving his dusty, battered car to a dilapidated hut and stopping for refreshments. As he does, a truck containing three men fleeing from the scene of a robbery they have committed crashes in the same spot. Unable to start the truck they steal Eric’s car. Eric manages to get their truck working and takes chase, but when he catches them they knock him out and take off. When Eric comes to, he resumes his search for the criminals, enlisting the help of one of the brother of one of the group, the mentally challenged Rey (Robert Pattinson), along the way.
Like another film set in a similar setting earlier this year, Tracks, the success of this movie is largely dependent on the performance of its lead actor, and Pearce is great as the tough, taciturn guy. That you know nothing about his back story until near the end of the film, and even then there is a lot unexplained, does not seem to matter. Pattinson has a more flashy, actorly, role and he does well, though you can see the acting process much more. Also his accent seems more deep south of America than Antipodean! There are also telling performances in small roles by David Field, the oldest member of the criminal gang, and Susan Prior as a compassionate doctor.
As you would expect the stark landscapes are well captured by cinematographer Natasha Braier, but it is the percussive, at times discordant, score by Thom Kellar and Sam Petty that really impressed me. Having said all that, it is a shame the film loses its way somewhat as it progresses. The bonding between Eric and Rey is touching but the scenes leading to the showdown with the gang begin to drag and the confrontation at the end is little antic-climatic. The film does finish on a real high point with the final scene which explains why Eric was so desperate to get his car back, and gives another meaning to the film’s title.
Rating 7 out of 10