Tow

Tow is inspired by a true story. Academy Award nominee, Rose Byrne plays Amanda Ogle, a woman who became homeless and forced to live in her car after a few wrong turns in life thrust her into poverty. When her only means of support is taken she loses all trust in herself. But she doesn’t give up and that’s what Tow is all about. Even if you tow the line and try to do the right thing, bureaucracy swallows you up.

A day after watching Tow, Stephanie Laing’s gut-puncher of a film, I’m still outraged about two things: 1) The never-should-have-happened true story that inspired the movie and 2) the fact that Rose Byrne remains so underrated despite an Oscar nomination. Tow could easily fix both of those. The movie starts by sharing the staggering statistic that there are between one and three million vehicular residents in the United States. That means that millions of people are sleeping in their cars every single night. Amanda Ogle (Byrne) is one of them. Tow is a David and Goliath story and it’s impossible not to root for underdog Amanda, especially when Byrne makes her so real and so empathetic.