Very Impressive Piece of Work

With a pinch of spag western surrealism

Building off the back of two outstanding performances (Pattinson in particular is proving himself quickly to be a talented, interesting, and daring character actor), The Rover takes its time telling its rather simple story, but that just allows the emotion to seep in without becoming melodramatic or silly.

The denouement would almost seem funny without the weight of what came before it, but it works beautifully in context and really punches you in the gut. There's been a lot of great movies about revenge lately, and this is one of the best, a quality minimalistic counterpoint to something like I Saw the Devil's incredible high drama.

Blue Ruin's been getting all the praise (and it's certainly a good movie), but I think The Rover beats it (although it is less funny).

Pearce and Pattinson are simply superb. Pearce as Eric plays his character almost internally. Pattinson on the other hand is a true revelation. With a series of facial ticks and a slow dim-witted drawl he gives life to a man whose whole world has turned upside down now that his brother has seemingly abandoned him.

Pattinson, through Rey, conveys not only desperation but also a surprising gentleness, a man who may not know a lot but knows that he can’t make it in this world on his own.

Michôd allows their performances to breathe (this is easily Pattinson’s best screen turn on camera) but it is not all about performance. The imagery is simply superb. The initial image of a truck flipping over viewed through the windows of the bar is exhilarating.

The harsh countryside as the two make their way on their quasi-hell ride adds an added menace and longing to the proceedings. In fact this menace is so palpable throughout the entire picture that when it does degenerate into quick, sickening violence and then tapers off the menace still remains.

All in all a fantastic achievement.

http://saltypopcorn.com.au/reviews/the-rover/

The Rover - Top 20 of 2014 from The Playlist

20. “The Rover”

If one takes “The Rover” on its own methodical, minimalist terms—an existentialist fable that burrows deep into the moralism of its corrupted, barren landscape—it’s hard to deny that writer/director David Michod’s sophomore effort wholly accomplishes what it sets out to do. Stripping away all narrative complexity to the point of abstraction, the character study really breathes, but in such a completely different way to Michod's triumphant last feature "Animal Kingdom," that after just two features and a few shorts, Michod has us convinced he's the real deal.

Featuring a stunningly grizzled, grimy lead performance by Guy Pearce, easily one of our favorite working actors, and an impressive turn from Robert Pattinson who is growing as a performer with every film, it's a movie pulsates beneath the surface, and in the long silences between dialogue and outbursts of violence. And it’s starkly beautiful to look at, and to listen to, eschewing revelations and plot twists to deliver its deceptively simple story through mood, tone and atmosphere.

Their full list is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-20-best-films-of-2014-20141209?page=1


https://twitter.com/_vakarians/status/529724934797688832

Indiewire: "The Most Underrated and Underseen Films of 2014 of 2014 So Far"

“The Rover”

I’ll be the first to admit that David Michod’s “The Rover” didn’t land with me quite as hard as it did with our reviewer out of Cannes. It was my kind of movie, sparse, minimalist, hauntingly moody, possessing a menacing slow burn to it – but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t leave me at a bit of a distance. I wanted slightly more – just one more emotional scene like the sequence with Guy Pearce’s character staring with deep wells of empathy at the caged dogs melting with heat from the Australian Outback.

But perhaps more than any film this year, or at least any film that any film I wasn’t immediately taken with, its simmering intensity and single-minded drive has really resonated with me. A lot of that comes from the internalized rage of Guy Pearce, a performance that has become one of my favorites of the year.

Now Robert Pattinson is good, but Pearce is something else; like a feral animal on a mission that cannot be stopped (and considering his recent excellent turns in "Lawless," "Breathe In" and "Hateship, Loveship" it feels like we have a new mini Pearce renaissance on our hands). There’s a fury within the heart of “The Rover,” but it’s from a ravaged soul who’s had everything taken from him. It’s a possessed and ghostly shell of a man who will stop at nothing to properly mourn all that he has lost and loved.

You cannot and will not deny that from this character. The movie really got killed in wide release, its languid rhythms and atmospheric meditations on our humanity (or lack thereof) just not built for the mainstream multiplexes and that’s a shame. Definitely make the effort to catch up with this one and give it time to marinate after it’s done.