Rover: The Long Goodbye (2007) (TV)

User Rating:

(awaiting 5 votes)

Director:

Anna Gravelle

Release Date:

20 March 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Cast

Geoffrey Palmer

...

Narrator

Runtime:

40 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

A brisk and interesting overview of the rise and fall of a famous brand – lacks detail but is accessible and engaging

In its heyday, Rovers were great cars in the UK and a strong prestige brand. However dilution of the brand and successive management failures in the 1970's saw that shine rapidly fade. Attempts later to win it back saw the company mired in history and nostalgia while other companies produced more modern cars in step with society in the way that Rover once was. Slumping sales then saw the company offloaded by BMW for £10 to a concern with no capital for investment, who resorted to making cars in India and slapping a Rover badge on them in the UK.

And so Rover came to an end – more or less. Something still does exist somewhere and at time of writing the news is saying that production could be returning to Longbridge in Q2 or Q3 this year, however the film mostly ignores the small bit of movement that continues and instead wisely looks at the bigger picture. Without going into too much detail, it charts the rise and decline of Rover very much in terms of the brand rather than the specifics of Union actions and individual management decisions. This is a wise decision because the film is slicker and more accessible for it, which is not to say that it simplifies things because, from my point of view it gets it right. My girlfriend is a pretty aggressive driver, I'll give you that, but nobody gets her goat more than "Rover drivers" as she puts it as she (perhaps correctly) seems to find them all older people, driving very slowly on their way to the shops, uncertain and maybe a bit confused by all the activity on the road. They hanker for a quieter time when life was not so rushed and a bit more dignified. This is maybe my girlfriend's stereotypical view of them but she is backed up by this documentary because that is one of the factors that killed off Rover.

The team behind the film had done their research and tell the story really well, using a select group of talking heads effectively while also drawing down lots of archive footage. One commentator hits the nail on the head when talking about the mourning of Rover – it is not just about the car itself, but the death of yet another British manufacturing/engineering company, something the UK used to be world leaders in but now find ourselves out skilled and undercut by much of the world. The use of footage from Top Gear is perhaps a bit obvious but in fairness it is the main car review show (or at least was before they got obsessed with the FHM and Nuts crowd baying for explosions, toys and fast expensive cars). The narration is even and a pleasant voice to listen to and his dialogue is the thread that holds the film together.

Overall then, a brisk history of Rover that maybe misses out the detail but serves as an overview of the rise and decline of a British brand. It is interesting and accessible even though it could have done more and felt like it could easily have been a bit longer.