Usually when I say that a movie "could" have ended before it did, the implication is that it "should" have. That was not the case with "The Rover". There were a few times where, if it had faded to black and rolled the credits (even without resolving its story), I'd have been more than satisfied. I'm glad that it didn't though, since it went on to provide resolution in a well-executed and surprising way.
The film takes place in the relatively near future: Australia ten years after the collapse of civilized society (the similarities to "Mad Max" are obvious but irrelevant). As the film opens, three criminals escaping from a shootout steal the car of our protagonist, Eric (Guy Pearce). Eric then spends the rest of the film tracking them down to reclaim his car. Along the way he captures Rey (Robert Pattinson), the fourth criminal (left for dead by his cohorts), and enlists his help in the hunt.
"The Rover" is incredibly successful at establishing a dark, hopeless tone, and it maintains it for the entire runtime. For the first twenty minutes or so, the film is just like many other dangerous post-apocalyptic worlds in the history of cinema. Then, there is a shockingly unexpected and sudden act of violence perpetrated by the protagonist. It caught me completely off guard and is the biggest "Holy Shit!" moment I've experienced while watching a film in a long time. It is what truly established the nature of this unique post-apocalyptic world, and made the lives of the characters in this film seem far more fragile than in any other recent release. Each time the characters went into a new dangerous situation, I was genuinely unsure if they would come out of it alive. This genuine uncertainty and tension is all too rare these days, but this film had it in spades. That is why there were several times I would have been okay with the film coming to a premature end. Stopping before Eric's quest was complete would have served to symbolize the never ending fight for survival that living in this world was. Since the world was established so well, that is a message I would have been content to leave the theatre with. I also feared that a conventional ending could mar everything that was special about what had come before.
Fortunately, the film did not end prematurely, and the ultimate confrontation it had been leading to was just as intense, dark, and tragic as it deserved to be. What really sold me on the film, though, was the very last scene. It features Pearce by himself, with no dialogue to work with. It has an emotionally moving twist that humanizes his character and changes your perception of everything that came before. His motivations throughout the entire film are suddenly seen in a new light. One of the things I liked best about this scene was that, while it did have a major and unexpected revelation, it was filmed very matter-of-factly. There was no dramatic flare of music or fancy camera moves to mark the "aha" of the reveal. It was just Pearce engaging in a mundane activity that changed everything. I was actually a quarter of the way through the scene before I realized exactly what was going on and its importance, and I loved it all the more for that.
I went into this film half expecting to be bored. Much like my experience viewing "Under the Skin", these expectations were thoroughly subverted and I found my eyes glued to the screen. With great performances, a stunning atmosphere, and an intricately constructed narrative that culminates in a brilliant ending, "The Rover" is one of the best films I've seen in a long time.
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