The Rover begins with some wit and energy, as three men fresh from some bloody crime get into a ridiculous argument and crash their car right in front of Guy Pearce's character's car. They steal his car and our very quiet lead character simply wants his car back and goes on the hunt. He quickly crosses paths with one of the men's injured mentally limited brother and they journey through a rundown landscape and form some sort of bond. This bare bones narrative has a nice set up, but becomes a monotonous series of detours that usually end in ugly ways. It's an ultimately pointless and empty exercise in sparse filmmaking and one note performances. When the resolution is reached the end result feels almost like a comedic punchline. The Rover is well shot and makes good use of its locations, but does little else and barely has a pulse.
Review of The Rover
