★★★ (3 out of 4)
I’m rooting for Rose Byrne. That Oscar nomination and Golden Globe win this year as a shrink breaking down in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” was no accident. She crushed the role. She’s been doing that for years in comedy (“Bridesmaids,” “Spy”) as well as drama since her days on “Damages” with Glenn Close. Watch her this week at a theater near you in “Tow,” the true story of Amanda Ogle, a homeless woman in Seattle, Washington, forced by circumstances and her battle for sobriety to live in her car. I know it sounds like poverty porn. But Byrne plays her with a no-bull drive that leaves no room for self-pity.
Even when her film dips into melodrama, Rose Byrne grounds her portrayal in a humanity that feels detailed and true.
True to the title, Amanda’s beaten-up 1991 Toyota Camry gets stolen and then towed after an interview for a sounds-good job at a pet salon that would put her veterinary tech license to good use. She doesn’t get the gig (no college degree), only the hell of finding that her home on wheels has been hauled away, leaving Amanda with a tow bill she can’t pay. A company rep, sympathetically played by former porn star Simon Rex, tells her there’s nothing he can do. That’s the system. And I’m guessing anyone in that system can relate.
After a series of Job-like setbacks lasting more than a year, with the company charging $75 a day to store the car, Amanda is left with a bill for shocking $21,634.[
WTF! And so begins Amanda’s battle with the Goliath of bureaucracy. Coupled with that is an alcohol addiction relapse and a fight with Barb (the reliably superb Octavia Spencer), a shelter manager who doesn’t like rule breaking. Amanda fares better with residents Nova (Demi Lovato) and Denise (Ariana DeBose). Lovato gets to sing a holiday number, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” to the residents, which is sweet but unnecessary.
Amanda’s key relationship is with her daughter Avery (Elsie Fisher) who lives in Utah, where Amanda used to drive for a visit when she had a car and wasn’t reduced to seeking an open bed in various shelters. Out of shame, she lies to Avery about her circumstances, which only adds to their estrangement.
Things pick up when she accepts the help of rookie lawyer Kevin Eggers, nicely played by “The Holdovers” breakout Dominic Sessa. You almost want to cheer when the kid goes up against company mouthpiece Martin La Rosa, but this baddie is so caricatured by Corbin Bernsen that the plot slips into soap opera.
First-time director Stephanie Laing can only go so far with the generic characters that litter the script by Jonathan Keasey and Brant Boivin. But the outrage over Amanda’s plight is strong enough to tighten the hold on your interest.
That and Byrne’s above-and-beyond performance. Just watching Amanda’s daily struggle to find places to eat, sleep, wash up and repeat reflects the plight of the unhoused in America the beautiful. Even when her film dips disappointingly into melodrama, exaggerating when we most need the story to stay on point, Byrne grounds her portrayal in a humanity that feels detailed and true. She’s a hell of an actress. If you haven’t noticed yet, “Tow” is a good place to get on the Byrne bandwagon. Start spreading the news.