@Courtesy of Tribeca Festival
‘Tow’ (Spotlight Narrative) could easily have been an intense drama, given the real-life event it is based on, but star and co-producer Rose Byrne managed to give the movie the gift of levity without making the whole story shallow or inconsistent, especially since it is really about serious facts and people who suffered. The story talks about Amanda Ogle, who has been sleeping in her more than 20-year-old automobile for a few months. When the car is stolen and then found the day after, she begins a judicial ordeal in order to get it back without having to pay absurd fines or fees. In the meantime, she begins to be hosted in a homeless shelter, surrounded by other women who share with her a less than comfortable existence. But the strength to fight for what she believes is right will form the backbone of Amanda’s affirmation as a human being.
Stephanie Laing has directed ‘Tow’ with a precise idea about the visual frame and most important the tone, alternating between human drama and moments of evident situational comedy with the necessary grace. The final result is touching without being maudlin, robust in the message without becoming rhetorical. Alongside a Rose Byrne as always effective when it’s about portraying a gentle character, we also find a sprightly Dominic Sessa, Octavia Spencer, Demi Lavato, Simon Rex, and Ariana DeBose, completing a strong and inspired cast that undoubtedly elevates the final result.
‘Tow‘ is a film made with intelligence and heart, it deserves to be seen and appreciated because it nevers goes for the cheap emotional sequence, on the contrary: in the depiction of Amanda’s personal drama, it restrain the storytelling to the minimal amount of informations, and sometimes it goes maybe a little too far in its own idea.
There are in fact some moments, especially in the last twenty minutes or so, in which you would love to see more, experience more of Amanda’s personal redemption, especially when it is about the relationship with her quite estranged daughter. The narrative strength of the main character’s journey is in the depiction of everyday life, in the little fights that each of us can fight any given day. That’s what makes ‘Tow’ a movie you can relate to, Amanda, a woman that you understand.
There is nothing particularly new in ‘Tow’: the screenplay written by Jonathan Keasey and Brant Boivin is a strange but working mash-up between The Pursuit of Happyness and Erin Brockovich. Nothing bad with that, especially because this movie doesn’t emulate the dramatic tone of the first or the raunchy atmosphere of the one directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Instead Tow finds its own pace, its own tone, something totally coherent with the acting style of the protagonist Rose Byrne. Her performance is remarkable especially because the actress seems totally at ease “reacting” with the different styles of her colleague. Byrne is convincing, reacting to Spencer’s charisma, to Sessa’s electric talking, to DeBose’s raging frustration.
She is of course the center of the movie, but most important is its heart and soul, constantly keeping that specific balance that is needed for the movie to work. Stephanie Laing has directed this feel-good story making it something that is completely capable of standing on its own, carried by an actress who can master dramedy like a few colleagues in contemporary entertainment.
Rate: C+
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