The Rover

"Vengeance is mine," saith somebody.... I'm sure I read it somewhere. That's what this is all about. We are in the desolate Australian Outback ten years after "the global collapse" (shades of "The Road Warrior"), where director David Michôd ("Animal Kingdom") working from a story by Joel Edgerton (better known as an actor "The Great Gatsby") generates a grim, sweaty ordeal with premier performances from his two lead actors.

The cast:

• Guy Pearce ("Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"...smile...) lost everything in the latest economic catastrophe, and now he has lost his last possession of any value...his car. This is a man capable of sudden violence and unexpected mercy. The versatile Pearce is wonderful as the taciturn loner/rover in this role.
• Robert Pattinson ("Twilight") is a wounded gang member, left behind to die by his brother. If he isn't retarded, at least he's "simple." Pattinson plays him slightly squirrelly, shambling, always in motion, with little facial twitches; none of these actions are overt, just tiny parts of the whole. I have never been a Pattinson fan, but he is affecting in this one.

In my opinion this bleak, violent, suspenseful story is made believable by two highly capable actors. I was impressed by Edgerton's creation of such a resolute hero, even though he begins with a clichéd post- apocalyptic setting. In the very last scene we finally see why our rover was so determined to get his car back.

Would I see it again? Absolutely not.

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Here is a sample:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi149138713/
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