The Rover (2014 film)
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''The Rover'' is a 2014 Australian
dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
written and directed by
David Michôd David Michôd ( ; born 30 November 1972) is an Australian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is best known for directing the critically acclaimed crime drama '' Animal Kingdom'' (2010) and dystopian drama '' The Rover'' (2014). ...
and based on a story by Michôd and
Joel Edgerton Joel Edgerton (born 23 June 1974) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his appearance in the ''Star Wars'' films ''Attack of the Clones'' (2002) and ''Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) as a young Owen Lars, a role he reprised i ...
. It is a contemporary western taking place in the
Australian outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
, ten years after a global economic collapse. The film stars
Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young (Neighbours), Mike Young in ...
and
Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. Known for starring in both big-budget and independent films, Pattinson has ranked among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the 1 ...
, and features
Scoot McNairy John Marcus "Scoot" McNairy (born November 11, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles in '' Monsters'', '' Argo'', ''Killing Them Softly'', ''12 Years a Slave'', '' Gone Girl'', and '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of ...
, David Field, Anthony Hayes, Gillian Jones, and Susan Prior. It premiered out of competition in the ''Midnight Screenings'' section at the
2014 Cannes Film Festival The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film '' Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri Bi ...
on 18 May 2014. The film screened at the 2014
Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...
on 7 June 2014, followed by the theatrical release of film in Australia on 12 June 2014. It had a
limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
on 13 June 2014 in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
before expanding wide on 20 June 2014 in the United States. The film earned seven nominations at the
4th AACTA Awards The 4th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as AACTA Awards) are a series of awards which includes the 4th AACTA Awards Luncheon, the 4th AACTA Awards ceremony and the 4th AACTA International Awards. The former ...
: Best Direction, Best Lead Actor for Guy Pearce, Best Supporting Actor for Robert Pattinson, Best Production Design, Best Original Music Score, Best Supporting Actress for Susan Prior, and Best Sound, winning the last two.


Plot

Ten years after a global economic collapse that caused worldwide turmoil, the Australian outback is a lawless wasteland, crime and poverty are common and small military units patrol the outback attempting to maintain what little law and order is left. After a robbery gone wrong, Archie, Caleb and Henry flee, leaving behind Henry's injured brother Reynolds. While driving away, Archie mocks Reynolds and Henry attacks him, causing Caleb to crash the truck in which they were riding. When they cannot maneuver the truck out of debris, they abandon it, and Archie steals the car belonging to mysterious loner Eric. Eric manages to free the truck and follows them. After a brief chase, Archie stops and Eric confronts them. When Eric tries to attack Archie, Henry knocks him unconscious with a shotgun. Eric wakes up and drives the truck into town, where he wanders into several establishments, asking if they have seen the men. He goes to an
opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
den, where he finds a dwarf and two Chinese acrobats from a traveling circus in the backroom. As Eric follows the dwarf to his trailer, the dwarf throws a rock at his chained, defenseless dog. Inside the trailer, the dwarf offers Eric a gun for $300. Eric doesn't have $300, so he abruptly shoots the dwarf in the head and leaves with a gun. After another confrontation with the opium den's owner, he walks back to his truck and finds Reynolds, who asks why he is in Henry's car. Eric asks Reynolds where Henry is, but Reynolds faints. After seeking help from a shopkeeper, Eric takes Reynolds to a doctor, who performs surgery on him. The doctor cares for abandoned dogs, which seems to interest Eric. The next day, Eric sees two vehicles approaching in the distance, senses threat, and takes the doctor's rifle. The occupants of the vehicles turn out to be the traveling circus members seeking revenge for Eric's murder of the dwarf. They kill the doctor's companion without warning when he comes out to investigate. Eric kills the acrobats before leaving with Reynolds. Eric and Reynolds stay at a motel in an almost-abandoned town. While Eric is away from the room, Rey loads a revolver, then sees an
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
vehicle driving down the street. He takes cover behind a bed and hears someone attempting to enter the room from outside. He shoots through the door and is shocked to find he has killed the daughter of the motel's owner before being shot at by a soldier. Eric comes to the rescue, killing the soldier and driving Reynolds and himself away. While camping near an abandoned mine, Eric is arrested by a soldier. At a small Army base nearby, he learns he is being transported to
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. Eric tells the soldier that after finding his wife with another man, he killed them both; he is angry that the authorities seemed not to notice or care. The soldier ignores him. Reynolds breaks into the area, kills the two soldiers outside, then the soldier who was processing Eric. Eric and Reynolds escape. They arrive at the town where Henry and the gang are hiding. They find Eric's car outside a house and break in. Eric holds Archie and Caleb at gunpoint, while Reynolds goes to confront Henry. Eventually both hold each other at gunpoint, with Henry not understanding why his brother wants to kill him and at the same time Reynolds accusing his brother of letting him die. Reynolds becomes emotionally overloaded and shoots the wall by accident, which causes Henry to instinctively shoot him in the neck. Eric hears the gunshot and kills Archie and Caleb, before walking into Henry's room and finding Reynolds' corpse. He shoots a devastated Henry in the chest and then burns the bodies. Later, Eric pulls to the side of the road in his car. It is revealed that he was obsessed with finding the car because his dog's corpse was in the trunk. Eric prepares to bury the dog in the desert.


Cast

*
Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young (Neighbours), Mike Young in ...
as Eric, a violent and bitter former Australian soldier who has lost his farm and his family. Michôd said that "I wanted the character to be a guy who had seen that world collapse, remembered a time when things were different and was carrying around a jaded resentment that was bubbling in a really murderous and dangerous way." *
Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. Known for starring in both big-budget and independent films, Pattinson has ranked among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the 1 ...
as Reynolds, a simple and naive southern American youngster. Rey is described by Pattinson as "a dependent who has been protected by people his entire life, but he has also burdened them, and he thinks that he can’t really live as an independent person. He’s a little slow, and very, very needy, and he feels like he needs people to look after him all the time." *
Scoot McNairy John Marcus "Scoot" McNairy (born November 11, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles in '' Monsters'', '' Argo'', ''Killing Them Softly'', ''12 Years a Slave'', '' Gone Girl'', and '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of ...
as Henry, brother of Reynolds and a member of the criminal group who stole Eric's car * Gillian Jones as Grandma, owner of an opium den * David Field as Archie, another member of the group who stole Eric's car * Tawanda Manyimo as Caleb, another member of group who stole Eric's car * Anthony Hayes as Sgt. Rickofferson * Susan Prior as Dorothy Peeples *
Nash Edgerton Nash Edgerton (born 19 January 1973) is an Australian film director, actor and stuntman, and a principal member of the movie-making collective Blue-Tongue Films. Early life Edgerton was born in Blacktown, New South Wales and grew up in Dural ...
as Town soldier * Jamie Fallon as Colin * Samuel F. Lee as Chinese acrobat


Production


Development

David Michôd David Michôd ( ; born 30 November 1972) is an Australian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is best known for directing the critically acclaimed crime drama '' Animal Kingdom'' (2010) and dystopian drama '' The Rover'' (2014). ...
wrote the screenplay for the film, based on a story he conceived with
Joel Edgerton Joel Edgerton (born 23 June 1974) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his appearance in the ''Star Wars'' films ''Attack of the Clones'' (2002) and ''Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) as a young Owen Lars, a role he reprised i ...
, about the near-future, in Australia a decade after the collapse of the western economy where people from all over the world come to work in the mines. The setting and plot of the film drew comparisons with ''
Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic Action film, action film series and media franchise created by George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with ''Mad Max (film), Mad Max'', and was followed by thre ...
''. Clarifying those comparisons, Michôd said that, "You put cars in the desert in Australia and people are going to think of ''Mad Max'', and with all due respect to that film—and I stress that—I think ''The Rover'' is going to be way more chillingly authentic and menacing." Talking about the characters in the film, Michôd said, "There is a strong sort of Asian flavour in the film, but I wanted it to feel like people have come from everywhere, from all corners of the world. Rey is a southern American who has travelled with his older brother Henry to work in the Australian mines.
Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. Known for starring in both big-budget and independent films, Pattinson has ranked among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the 1 ...
and
Scoot McNairy John Marcus "Scoot" McNairy (born November 11, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles in '' Monsters'', '' Argo'', ''Killing Them Softly'', ''12 Years a Slave'', '' Gone Girl'', and '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of ...
are the only American accented characters in the film, but a lot of other accents join them, including
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
,
Cambodian Cambodian usually refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Cambodia ** Cambodian people (or Khmer people) ** Cambodian language (or Khmer language) ** For citizens and nationals of Cambodia, see Demographics of Cambodia ** Fo ...
, and of course, Australian."


Casting

It is the second collaboration between David Michôd and
Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young (Neighbours), Mike Young in ...
after ''Animal Kingdom''; Michôd wrote the character of Eric for Pearce. In May 2012, it was announced that Pearce would appear as Eric in the film. Initially
Joel Edgerton Joel Edgerton (born 23 June 1974) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his appearance in the ''Star Wars'' films ''Attack of the Clones'' (2002) and ''Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) as a young Owen Lars, a role he reprised i ...
, who co-wrote the story of the film with Michôd tried for the role of Eric but it did not work out, according to Edgerton "David ichôdand I even at one point were like, because I said to David, “Should I be in this movie? I don’t know that I’m right for it.” And he’s like, “I don’t know if you’re right for it either.” Because it wasn’t just some complicated character, Guy earces character. We even decided to go out one day to shoot a scene together just to work it out for ourselves. It was pretty clear after doing it I’m not the right guy for this movie." Pattinson won the role of Reynolds after audition, over other actors. Michôd commented on the casting of Pattinson that, "(he is) really smart, and not the sort of pretty boy I was expecting. As soon as it was time to start testing… he was my first choice, by a long way." Pattinson in an interview described the film that, "It's very existential. It's really interesting. I couldn't really explain to you what it's about but it's sort of about how much pain can the world take and how much disgust and cruelty before love dies. I think that's kind of what it's about." Michôd used amateur actors from the Australian
outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
in the film. Talking about that he said, "You can't meet these people and not think, Oh, there's got be a way of getting you in this movie.'"


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
commenced on 28 January 2013 in
Southern Flinders Ranges Southern Flinders Ranges is a South Australian wine region, located east of Spencer Gulf. It is located to the east and north-east of Port Pirie. Though vines have been planted in the area since the 1890s, the Southern Flinders Ranges is a re ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Filming continued over seven weeks in Hammond,
Quorn Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin. Quorn is sold as bo ...
, Copley, and Leigh Creek, ending on 16 March 2013 in Marree, north of
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Producers Watts and Linde commended the enthusiasm of the cast; they said of the shoot, "The South Australian desert environment can be a tough one to work in, particularly for those coming from a Northern Hemisphere winter but both the cast and crew have thrown themselves into the shoot. We are shooting in some of the most haunting and stunning landscapes in the world, and are fortunate to have such an exceptional cast and a truly talented crew."


Music

Antony Partos composed the score for the film. He previously collaborated with Michôd on his 2010 film ''Animal Kingdom''. Musician Sam Petty, who previously worked with Michôd on ''Animal Kingdom'' and '' Hesher'' selected the soundtracks and music pieces for the film. The soundtrack album was released by Lakeshore Records in a digital format on 7 October 2014 and would be released in physical format on 11 November 2014. "Gone" by Clearside was featured in the first teaser trailer of the film.


Background

Talking about the score Partos said that "My task was to build the trust and love between the two main characters despite their circumstances. I think there is a subtle yet tangible shift that develops two thirds of the way through the story and the score does change in this regard to become more harmonically based compared to the textures that are present in the first half of the film."


Score listing


Soundtrack

Michôd wanted to use saxophonist Colin Stetson pieces in the film. Originally he also selected "
Don't Cha "Don't Cha" is a song written by Busta Rhymes and CeeLo Green, and produced by the latter. The chorus is an interpolation of the song "Swass", which was written and performed by Sir Mix-a-Lot. The song was originally recorded and published by Tor ...
" by
The Pussycat Dolls The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe ...
to use in a crucial scene in the film involving Rey (played by Pattinson) but later changed it to " Pretty Girl Rock" by
Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and actress. She was born and raised in Decatur, Georgia and spent most of her youth working with producer Anthony Dent as a songwriter and background vocalist for ...
.


Soundtrack listing


Distribution


Marketing and Promotion

The first images of Pearce and Pattinson in the film were released on 13 March 2013. On 10 April 2014, a still of Pattinson from the film was released. On 29 January 2014, the first
teaser trailer A teaser (or more specifically teaser trailer) is a mini- trailer and a form of teaser campaign advertising that focuses on film and television programming. It is a videography pre-release move or television show advertisement. Short in length, te ...
was released, along with the poster of the film. The full teaser, along with a ''sneak peek'' from the film, premiered on TV on 30 January 2014 during the
3rd AACTA Awards The 3rd Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as AACTA Awards) are a series of awards which includes the 3rd AACTA Awards Luncheon, the 3rd AACTA Awards ceremony and the 3rd AACTA International Awards. The former ...
broadcast on
Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
. With the announcement of the film's premiere at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, a full-length official trailer, along with two film posters featuring Pearce and Pattinson, were released on 17 April 2014.


Release

''The Rover'' was released in Australia on 12 June 2014. In United States, it had a
limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
in Los Angeles and New York City on 13 June 2014, and expanded into wider release on 20 June 2014. It screened at '' 2014 New Zealand International Film Festival'' in ''Thrill'' section on 20 July 2014. It also served as the opening night film at ''Fantasy Film Fest, Germany'' on 27 August 2014. It had a theatrical released in UK on 15 August 2014.


Home media

The film released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
and
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in USA on 16 September 2014, by
Lionsgate Home Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered in ...
. Bonus features include deleted scenes and a "making-of" segment title "Something Elemental: Making The Rover". It became available for
online streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
and digital download through
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
and
amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
on 23 August 2014 in United States. It was released on DVD in UK on 5 January 2015.


Reception


Box office

The film received a
limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
first, similarly like
A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...
's previous releases ''
Spring Breakers ''Spring Breakers'' is a 2012 American comedy crime film written and directed by Harmony Korine and starring James Franco, Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine. Gomez, Hudgens, Benson and Korine portray four college ...
'' and ''
The Bling Ring ''The Bling Ring'' is a 2013 crime film written and directed by Sofia Coppola featuring an ensemble cast led by Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, and Claire Julien. It is based on the 2010 ''Vanity Fair'' article "T ...
''; it grossed over $69,302 at an average of $13,860 per theatre in its opening weekend, which took place at 5 theatres in Los Angeles and New York City. It had a
wide release In the American motion picture industry, a wide release (short for nationwide release) is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across the country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical re ...
at 608 theatres and earned $481,214 at an average of $791 per theatre in its opening weekend. It surpassed '' The Railway Man'' for the lowest opening weekend of a film in 600 or more theaters during 2014. The film has earned a worldwide total of $3.2 million.


Critical response

Upon its
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
premiere, the film received generally positive reviews, and Pearce and Pattinson's performances were highly appreciated. Review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reports that 66% of 169 film critics have given the film a positive review, and it has a rating average of 6.4 out of 10. The site's summary states: "Fueled by engaging performances from Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson, the tension-filled ''The Rover'' overcomes its narrative faults through sheer watchability." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
weighted mean The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
rating out of 100 reviews from film critics, the film holds an average score of 64, based on 38 reviews, indicating a 'generally favorable' response.
Kenneth Turan Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...
of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' stated that "''The Rover'' is a most impressive piece of filmmaking, tense and unrelenting, that chills the blood as well as the soul" and about performances said that "Pearce's barely controlled ferocity as Eric is exceptional, but it is not as much of a revelation as Pattinson's unrecognizable work as Rey, a damaged, unfocused individual who is the older man's half-unwilling accomplice".
Todd McCarthy Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for ''Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...
, writing for ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', wrote that "Pattinson delivers a performance that, despite the character’s own limitations, becomes more interesting as the film moves along, suggesting that the young actor might indeed be capable of offbeat character work. But always commanding attention at the film’s center is Pearce, who, under a taciturn demeanor, gives Eric all the cold-hearted remorselessness of a classic Western or film noir anti-hero who refuses to die before exacting vengeance for an unpardonable crime" and concluded that it is "An intense look into the near future, and it’s not good." Jessica Kiang in her review for
The Playlist ''The Playlist'' is a British children's entertainment and music series presented by guest presenters, produced by Strawberry Blond TV for CBBC and first aired on 22 April 2017 and ended on 12 March 2022. The first series was narrated by Sco ...
, grade the film B+ by saying that "Bleak, brutal and unrelentingly nihilist, and with only sporadic flashes of the blackest, most mordant humour to lighten the load, it feels parched, like the story has simply boiled away in the desert heat and all that’s left are its desiccated bones. In a good way." However, Scott Foundas of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' said, "Michod’s sophomore feature isn’t exactly something we’ve never seen before, but it has a desolate beauty all its own."
Peter Bradshaw Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''. Early life and education Bradshaw was educated at Haberdashers ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' wrote, "After a terrific start, the film begins to meander, to lose its way, and its grip." Drew McWeeny of
HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
called the film "glacially paced and intentionally minimalistic." Filmmaker
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
stated that the film is "A mesmerizing, visionary achievement. The best post-apocalyptic movie since the original ''
Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic Action film, action film series and media franchise created by George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with ''Mad Max (film), Mad Max'', and was followed by thre ...
''. With the one-two punch of ''The Rover'' & '' Animal Kingdom'', David Michôd proves himself to be the most uncompromising director of his generation."


Accolades


See also

*
Cinema of Australia The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internati ...
*
South Australian Film Corporation South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) is a South Australian Government statutory corporation established in 1972 to engage in film production and promote the film industry, located in Adelaide, South Australia. The Adelaide Studios are managed ...


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rover, The 2014 films 2014 crime drama films Australian crime drama films 2010s dystopian films Films directed by David Michôd Films set in the future Films shot in Adelaide Films shot in Flinders Ranges Australian post-apocalyptic films A24 (company) films Screen Australia films Roadshow Entertainment films Films produced by Liz Watts Fratricide in fiction Films set in the Outback 2010s English-language films 2010s American films