[7][8] It is a contemporary western taking place in the Australian outback, ten years after a global economic collapse.

[9] The film stars Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson, and features Scoot McNairy, David Field, Anthony Hayes, Gillian Jones, and Susan Prior.

While driving away, Archie mocks Rey and Henry attacks him, causing Caleb to crash the truck in which they were riding.

When they cannot manoeuvre the truck out of debris, they abandon it, and Archie steals the car belonging to mysterious loner Eric.

After another confrontation with the opium den's owner, he walks back to his truck and finds Rey, who asks why he is in his brother's (Henry's) car.

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 travelling circus members seeking revenge for Eric's murder of the dwarf.

While Eric is away from the room, Rey loads a snub-nose revolver, then sees an Army vehicle driving down the street.

Eric hears the gunshot and kills Archie and Caleb before walking into Henry's room and finding Rey's body.

David Michôd wrote the screenplay for the film, based on a story he conceived with Joel Edgerton, 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.

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.

[29][30] Filming continued over seven weeks in Hammond, Quorn, Copley, and Leigh Creek, ending on 16 March 2013 in Marree, north of Adelaide, Australia.

[1] Musician Sam Petty, who previously worked with Michôd on Animal Kingdom and Hesher selected the soundtracks and music pieces for the film.

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.

Originally he also selected "Don't Cha" by The Pussycat Dolls 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.

[40][41] The full teaser, along with a sneak peek from the film, premiered on TV on 30 January 2014 during the 3rd AACTA Awards broadcast on Network Ten.

Bonus features include deleted scenes and a "making-of" segment title "Something Elemental: Making The Rover".

[6] Upon its Cannes premiere, the film received generally positive reviews, and Pearce and Pattinson's performances were highly appreciated.

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.

[56] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times 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".

"[58] Jessica Kiang in her review for The Playlist, 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.

"[59] However, Scott Foundas of Variety said, "Michod’s sophomore feature isn’t exactly something we’ve never seen before, but it has a desolate beauty all its own.

"[60] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote, "After a terrific start, the film begins to meander, to lose its way, and its grip.

With the one-two punch of The Rover & Animal Kingdom, David Michôd proves himself to be the most uncompromising director of his generation.