Twilight’s high school heartthrob has became an indie mainstay but will his newfound niche survive after he takes on the role of Batman?
Robert Pattinson has given better performances in better films than The Rover, yet it’s a brief scene from David Michod’s outback dystopian thriller that I always think of when it comes to defining his strange, frangible screen persona. Shortly after this otherwise stern, dour sci-fi deals one of film history’s least expected needle drops in the bouncy form of Keri Hilson’s Pretty Girl Rock, we cut to the daft but oddly affecting sight of Pattinson, playing a gauzy-eyed simpleton at the mercy of the wilderness, sitting in a darkened car and singing softly along to the song’s cocky, skittering R&B beat: “All eyes on me when I walk in / No question that this girl’s a ten / Don’t hate me ‘cause I’m beautiful / Don’t hate me ’cause I’m beautiful.”
Related: The Lighthouse review – Robert Pattinson shines in sublime maritime nightmare