MOVIE REVIEW: "THE ROVER" (2014)

“THE ROVER” (2014) MOVIE REVIEW

At the outset, the stills from”THE ROVER” appear to be a mash-up of brooding expressions on the leads. What gives?

You can see latent anger, feel the angst and observe these two actors (totally with contrasting personalities) blazing  the dare-devil track of a dangerous road trip in the sprawling outback of Australia.

You have to hand  to GUY PEARCE for being such a stirring actor.

He is spot-on for his portrayal of ERIC the loner. He has vengeful  intents on his mind and will stop at nothing to retrieve his prized possession, a vehicle who has been unceremoniously snatched from him under his very nose in a “daylight robbery”.

You can scream foul that the scorching sun is driving everybody nuts . While ERIC is all roar, he is still very much vulnerable.

ROBERT PATTINSON is excellent as he tackles on the challenging role of REY.

He totally sheds his pretty boy image to play a dim-witted survivor who’s being dragged into this dangerous game of cat-and-mouse.

His screen character requires him to display a multi-layered personae of helplessness in this emotionally charged and gritty feature.

 It’s “two thumbs up” for ROBERT PATTINSON.

He excels as REY proving that there’s indeed, a future for him, after his post-Twilight days.

Let’s roll out the film synopsis:

We are led to a desolate world, a pitiful and a futile patch of the Australian Outback 10 years after a Western economic collapse.

We see survivors roaming like post-apocalyptic zombies, scrambling over a broken society’s scraps and will kill for a teeny bit of these. It’s that bad.

Yeah, life is cheap.

And it is amid all this furore that an embittered loner Eric (PEARCE) travels the desolate towns of the outback for no apparent reasons.

When a gang of thieves steals his car they leave behind a wounded Rey (PATTINSON) in their wake.

Forcing Rey to help track the gang, Eric will go to any lengths to take back his only prized possession. The single-minded purpose of retrieving forms the crux of this jagged movie.

DAVID MICHOD wrote the film based on a plot he crafted with JOEY EDGERTON, a gifted actor in his own right.

MICHOD’s name may not ring a bell, but his debut film, “Animal Kingdom,” was one of 2010′s great successes.

This second venture, though very different, affirms him as an impressive filmmaker with a talent for creating distinctive worlds.

The film director demonstrates to us his own bleak world of darkness. The imagery is stunningly awesome.

We pay homage to all that’s doom and gloom.

It’s one cheerless disposition that grips you in a forsaken world of demented surprises.

The plot is tirelessly twisted and disturbing, so much that it gets under your skin.

Despite an intentionally arty plot, strong performances from the leads pave the way from start to end.

Well worth a see.

RATING: 4 out of 5.

Local Distributor: GSC MOVIES.