The cinematography in The Rover was perfect for the film and others agree. The film makes a showing in this best of 2014 cinematography video:
The Rover wasn't forgotten by people but I enjoyed this write up the best.
10 out of 10 - Nick Laskins Top 10 of 2014 via ThePlaylist:
I must confess that I had been looking forward to this one since it was first announced and before I knew a damn thing about the film. David Michod’s chilling “Animal Kingdom” remains one of the most startling and assured directorial debuts of the last decade, and my favorite from the current crop of gloriously pessimistic Aussie cinema that includes the films of John Hillcoat, Andrew Dominik’s “Chopper,” and Justin Kurzel’s “The Snowtown Murders.” And yet my already-colossal expectations were not just met, but exceeded by “The Rover,” Michod’s spare, brutal look at savagery and survival in a world abandoned and left to rot by the very people who once inhabited it. The film unfolds in the midst of a worldwide catastrophe called “The Collapse,” the causes of which Michod wisely declines to explain. Some have criticized the film’s leisurely pace and minimal plot, but when the mood and menace is this thick and gorgeous, it would be churlish to complain. Guy Pearce—who, in his whole career, has never been this feral or terrifying, even when he beat Shia LaBoeuf to within an inch of his life in “Lawless”—plays Eric, a frazzled shell of a man whose single-minded pursuit of his missing automobile forms the crux of the film’s slow-burning narrative. As his traveling companion, Robert Pattinson is nothing less than a revelation. The actor has often relied on his striking good looks and air of affectless-ness in the recent films of David Cronenberg, where affectless-ness is a consistent stylistic choice. As Rey, the stammering, sweet-hearted simpleton whose wardrobe looks to be on loan from a 90’s rap-rock band, Pattinson reveals newfound dimensions to his screen persona. He is daft, childlike, full of wonderment and fear. He and Pearce acclimate themselves effortlessly to Michod’s hellish milieu, which strips its “Mad Max” futurescape of all action-movie chicanery and unnecessary exposition and reduces it to the bare essentials. Some have called the film “dystopian,” although that seems unfair and not quite accurate—perhaps this collective misjudgment is to blame for the film’s performance at the box office. But any film that manages to successfully utilize Keri Hilson’s joyously insipid “Pretty Girl Rock” in its most emotionally charged moment has to be something pretty special.The critics over at The Playlist were fans of The Rover and have included the film and the performances on several lists already documented here. They still gave The Rover an honorable mention on their 17 Best Films You Didn't See in 2014 even though the film appeared in an earlier version of this list:
Films like "The Rover," "The Babadook," "Blue Ruin" and "Obvious Child" should have been bigger hits than they were, but we've been shouting about them for a while, including in our year-end coverage, so we wanted to use the spotlight to shine on some darker corners.The Playlist, like Buzzfeed, ranked Rob singing Pretty Girl Rock, as 4 out of 15 of the Best Movie Music Moments of 2014!
David Michod's "The Rover" is unrelentingly bleak, or very nearly so. Set in a post-apocalyptic Australia that makes the world envisioned by George Miller's "Mad Max" movies seem like a day at a multi-level spa, the narrative is defined largely by bloodshed, squealing tires, and grime. But it's during the movie's darkest section that Michod brings out the most wonderful moment of levity. Over a stark, wasted landscape, and stars Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson tromping over brush, a familiar tinkling piano starts to boom over the soundtrack, former Timbaland protégé Keri Hilson's outrageously wonderful "Pretty Girl Rock." It lets the audience say, "Wait! I know this song," plugging them into the character's mindset in a way that the movie hadn't previously accomplished, segueing to the next scene, where Pattinson halfheartedly sings along to the song in some bombed-out vehicle (notably the line "Don't hate me 'cos I'm beautiful" which has to have meta relevance for the actor). The upbeat nature of the song gives the movie hope, even if that hope is just as phony and shiny as the song itself (and over just as quickly). It's sometimes hard to make an emotional connection with a movie as single-mindedly brutal as "The Rover," but this moment, thanks to this song, lets you in. It's also amazing to think that, in the dusty distant future, people are still doing the pretty girl rock.
Here are the current collection of videos that showcased the year in film. The Rover and Maps To The Stars pop up and it's fun to try and catch the scenes!
And lastly, for now, Maps To The Stars also snagged a 6 out of 10 best films of 2014 from The Yorker:
6. Maps to the Stars Celebrity is often satirised, but not usually so well. David Cronenburg’s Maps to the Stars was appalling, trashy, and thrilling. Stunningly entertaining yet thought provoking and at times, moving. It was testament to the idea that perfect execution can sometimes be better than having the most original idea.I love love love that Rob's films get on these year end lists and best of mashups. Chances are we'll be doing this dance again at the end of 2015. :)
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