“Australia – Ten Years After the Collapse”
This is as explicit an explanation as David Michôd gives in terms of explaining where we find ourselves in his second full length feature, The Rover. Following on from the remarkable Animal Kingdom, this could not be more a different film. In place of a multitude of characters, we really only have two; rather than a busy and gritty suburbia, we have an almost peaceful and utterly remote outback; busy, naturalist camera work has been replaced with an almost impressionistic stroke of cinematography. What hasn’t changed though is Michôd’s penchant for sublime filmmaking.
The Rover’s story, much as it is, revolves around Guy Pearce’s stoic and emotionally shut down Eric looking for three men who stole his car. The motivations for him wanting that particular car back are not clear, and for the majority of the film it just seems as if it is something for this loner to do in this new, dead world. This gives the film a powerful existentialist undercurrent, and combined with Pearce’s largely silent performance, allows us to draw any number of “the meaning of life is to give life meaning” messages from his journey. Along the way, he picks up the dim witted American, Rey (Robert Pattinson)- a wayward drifter himself and brother to one of the men who stole the car. The remainder of the film is based pretty entirely on their conversations, or half conversations given Eric’s silence, how they survive in their journey, and the bond that develops between the two men.
In films of this nature, the viewership will always be divided. This is not the suspenseful, ‘what will happen next?’ drama of Animal Kingdom– this is a slow, beautifully shot and achingly performed character study. It’s difficult to articulate the bond between the two men without delving into spoiler territory- yet Pearce, as Eric, delivers a wonderful performance of a man looking for meaning in his life. This meaning, as the film goes on, extends beyond the typical existential search in which anyone might find selves in this dead world, and morphs into a redemptive, broken hero’s journey. Pattinson’s presence in the film could have gone either way, with the Twilight star somewhat still yet to prove his worth as a ‘proper’ actor- yet the man absolutely delivers the goods here. The character he creates, with his southern drawl and slow mental state, could have been played for laughs- yet Pattinson manages to give the character real human depth. Despite clearly being the side player here, we are able to infer much of Rey’s life and interests through snippets of dialogue and Pattisons’ beguiling work.
And inference is really the name of the game here, and why the film is such a success. We are never spoon fed any details here- we are given the outline of a world and left to create the finer points ourselves. Rey mentions coming out to Australia for mining work; we see a disused and long abandoned quarry and a huge industrial grade train; the food and fuel vendors insist on being paid in American dollars. These are all clues to figure out the world we inhabit here- yet this is no puzzle. The beauty of Michôd’s script is that is allows us to see infer what we want, with no direct “aha!” moment needed. Whilst a strong left wing analysis of the state of this world and what that says about our current use of resources is perhaps inevitable, this is hardly a political film.
On a purely visual level, the film feels amazingly ‘cinematic’ – with virtually every shot coming across as meticulously composed and organised. The Australian outback has always given us beautiful looking films and this is no exception- the harsh horizon line intrudes into almost every shot, adding to the film’s sprawled out yet subdued tone. The interior shots, few as they are, feel even heavier than they otherwise would due to their stark juxtaposition with the external landscape shots.
While there are many recent films based around similar tones and ideas of a stoic male protagonist keeping quiet and trying to achieve an unknown goal (the also Australian set, Guy Pearce starring The Proposition comparisons are inevitable), few achieve pathos and beauty as effortlessly as this one. Entirely different to Animal Kingdom yet equally as effective a piece of filmmaking, The Rover solidifies Michôd’s position as perhaps our finest young director.
Review Score: FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Rover opens nationally in Australia tomorrow, June 12th, 2014.
Running Time: 1 Hour and 42 Minutes
Rated: MA15+
———-
