Tow: Inspired by a True Story

Directed by Stephanie Laing, Tow: Inspired by a True Story follows Rose Byrne’s Amanda as she goes to extreme lengths to get her car back after it’s illegally towed. Filmmaker Laing, armed with a script by Jonathan Keasey and Brant Boivin, delivers an erratic yet mostly engaging drama that benefits significantly from Byrne’s commanding, compelling performance, and it’s clear, as well, that the actress’ first-class work is echoed in the superb efforts of capable supporting players like Simon Rex, Octavia Spencer, and Dominic Sessa – with the latter’s impressively engaging appearance as Amanda’s green lawyer remaining a recurring highlight within the proceedings. And while the picture admittedly does suffer from a somewhat repetitive midsection, as Amanda finds herself faced with one misfortune after another, Tow: Inspired by a True Story builds towards a heartfelt second half that boasts its fair share of emotionally-charged sequences and digressions (eg Amanda makes an unexpectedly powerful confession to her support group) – which ultimately confirms the movie’s place as a solid endeavor that contains, at its core, another predictably terrific Byrne turn.

*** out of ****