Dear Ladies and Gentleman,
The movie The Rover from the director's fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival should have been in the running for the Palme d'Or. Director David Michod's latest feature takes the viewer to a place that is barren and undiscovered. The lens of cinematographer Natasha Braier must have had to be continually cleansed of flies, mosquitoes, dust, and vermin. The director cites at certain points he was worried about his actors dying from extreme heat. The conditions were at times 110-120 degrees. As a viewer the camera seems like it might melt. The remote outback of Southern Australia provides the perfect location for the post-apocalyptic world it's characters inhabit. The dust becomes a character that sticks to the sweat of the men and everything in it's path. The land is like a version of the American Southwest, yet stuck in Frontier history. There is not total anarchy like most post-apocalyptic movies, yet it is definitely the wild west and sci-fi bound into one. There are general stores to get canned foods, barricaded structures to obtain bullets and petrol, and karaoke bars. A broken down circus has midgets that supply fire arms.
The acting in this picture is impeccable. From the opening sequence of Guy Pearce with flies in his nose like an appendage, to the look he carries throughout, the film is a testament to an actor who can say everything with the look of his eyes. Pearce is so jaded he explains when he tells a captor, "whatever you try to kill in me died long ago." Robert Pattinson portrays the half-wit with equal power. The character's slowness is reminiscent of Lenny in Mice and Men. Just like Lenny his violence can erupt uncontrollably out of nowhere. Pearce and Pattinson form a fascinating duo for a road movie. Their is no comic relief or buddy stories along this desolate highway.
One of critics chief bones of contention with the picture is the apparent basic storyline. A man determined to locate his vehicle in a post apocalyptic world. Many critics feel this is a boring journey and way too simple. My response to these writers are they have absolutely no idea what this film is about. The car is just window-dressing for gargantuan themes like redemption, betrayal, hope, survival, depression, love, and a desperate search for meaning in a world where nothing matters.
One of the best aspects of this film is the fact that Guy Pearce never breaks character, he stays true to himself throughout. The response from crowds at the theater has been sterile. I think many did not know it was a post-apocalyptic western.
Similarities to this film and others are difficult to come by. I will attempt to list films that had the same desert tone. Oliver Stone's U-Turn, definitely jumps out at me. A character stranded in the desert town of Superior, Arizona where one bad thing happens after another. Strange characters galore in that feature as well. The Coen brothers No Country For Old Men has hints of this one as well a man alone determined to survive. In the desert of Marfa, Texas. The aftermath with dead bodies everywhere would fit perfectly into The Rover. The Hughes brothers Book of Eli is a post apocalyptic feature in the deserts of New Mexico. Denzel Washington could likely come across these characters in search for water. Australia's own Mad Max with Mad Mel Gibson comes to mind in terms of the chase sequence at the beginning.
After all these comparisons The Rover seems to be a unique animal. The film actually at times feels like a spiritual journey. Perhaps the pacing and the road seem so foreign to the United States style of film making other than the traditional western. That is perhaps what makes it stick out so much well ladies and gents catch it if you can this summer. Unfortunately I figure the film will have a short run.
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