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.