In Stephanie Laing’s heartwarming movie Tow, Amanda Ogle, portrayed by Rose Byrne as a straightforward character, often hears the phrase “people like you” from strangers and social workers alike. This term is used when discussing her situation as a homeless woman in Seattle, Washington, living in her car. Social service workers might use it to express their surprise at her resilience, while passers-by, mistakenly assuming she’s down on her luck, use it as a form of praise for her courage in navigating bureaucratic challenges and everyday social apathy, which they perceive as a reflection of Amanda’s character rather than a response to systemic failures.
Amanda finds it incredibly distressing whenever her 1991 Blue Toyota Camry gets towed away. This automobile was unfortunately stolen from her while she was job interviewing at a luxury pet grooming salon. The employees of this big auto corporation didn’t seem to care about the car’s worth as they hauled it off without a second thought. Not only does Amanda reside in the vehicle, but she also needs it to secure the job she desperately wants. When asked if she could fetch clients’ dogs, she was more than willing, eager to start anew and utilize her veterinary tech license. Therefore, it’s not just an annoyance for Amanda when she steps out of the salon and finds her car has vanished.
Debuting at Tribeca, the film Tow narrates Amanda’s struggle lasting over a year to retrieve her car from a tow yard. The movie is based on the true tale of a homeless woman in Seattle who waged an extraordinary legal battle against a tow company to reclaim her vehicle and settle an exorbitant bill. Laing’s heartfelt adaptation delves into Amanda’s life prior to the tow-yard ordeal, and offers a glimpse into how she manages to live in the city while dealing with this stressful conflict. Akin to Harris Dickinson’s powerful debut at Cannes, Tow shines a light on the challenges of homelessness and addiction with compassion, authenticity, and a sprinkle of humor.
According to a screenplay penned by Jonathan Keasey, Brant Boivin, and Annie Weisman (as seen in “Family Squares” and “Irreplaceable You”), the narrative commences with an intriguing statistic regarding the nation’s homeless-by-vehicle population: The estimated count ranges from 1 to 3 million individuals. Upon introducing Amanda, we find her struggling during a less than favorable job interview. When the potential employer inquires about Amanda’s vet tech license despite her lack of college degree, she visibly deflates and the interview concludes unsuccessfully.
Gradually guiding viewers through snapshots of Amanda’s life, Laing reveals her charging her phone in different locations, exchanging texts with her teenage daughter Avery (Elsie Fisher), and trying to find a suitable parking spot for a peaceful night. Finding a place to rest proves to be the most difficult, and a scene showing Amanda being hassled by neighborhood patrol brings to mind instances from Patrick Fealey’s harrowing narrative about homelessness in America, which he shared last year in Esquire magazine. Both their experiences emphasize the high cost of poverty in the United States.
Following her unsuccessful attempt to alert the indifferent police officers at the local station about her stolen car, Amanda eventually traces her Camry in a towing facility. She implores the attendant (Simon Rex) to free her vehicle, but he hesitates, confessing he lacks the power to do so. Undeterred and showing determination reminiscent of Frances McDormand’s character in Nomadland, but with added zest, Amanda decides to take on the corporation behind the tow yard.
Amanda’s tale mirrors the heartwarming struggle of underdog narratives like David versus Goliath. In a small claims court, she chose to act as her own lawyer, delivering a compelling testimony that, coupled with the absence of the tow company’s legal representation, led the judge to issue a court order for the return of her vehicle. However, there arises a complication: her car has already vanished from the yard; having been shuffled through the system, it is currently en route to an auction and subsequently destined for a scrapyard.
Despite facing numerous obstacles, Amanda persists. She discovers a church shelter led by a resilient woman named Barb (Octavia Spencer). This shelter also provides aid from a young, passionate lawyer named Kevin (Dominic Sessa) from the show ‘The Holdovers’. He takes up her case, assisting her in submitting appeals to higher courts. Within the shelter, Amanda forges sincere bonds with other homeless individuals such as Nova (Demi Lovato), a pregnant woman, and Denise (Ariana DeBose), a recovering addict whose sharp wit and humor hide her struggles with losing custody of her children. These companions aid Amanda in overcoming her alcohol addiction and dealing with the complications in her relationship with her daughter.
As a gamer, I’ve found that “Tow” doesn’t strictly stick to the gritty realism often seen in games like “Urchin”. Instead, it embraces the amusing situations that crop up in Amanda’s life without romanticizing the struggles of those struggling. The score, crafted by Este Haim and Nathan Barr, brings a playful touch to Amanda’s story, from trying to land a job at the high-end grooming salon to gently poking fun at Kevin for his misguided attempts to understand me. Vanja Cernjul’s straightforward cinematography adds an intimate feel to the film, but I can’t help but wish for wider shots that could have highlighted the stark contrast between Amanda’s references to wealthy tech entrepreneurs and the rest of us just making ends meet in Seattle.
Nonetheless, the simple narrative of Tow carries a potent implication, suggesting that many of us share more similarities with someone living in a car, rather than the wealthy individuals we’re often led to idolize.
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2025-06-12 06:24