In October of 2017, an unhoused Seattle woman, living out of her 1991 Toyota Camry containing every possession she had in the world, found her life turned upside down after the car was stolen and then towed. She waged an epic year-long battle to get it back. Now, seven and a half years later, her story has world premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday night as a major motion picture starring Rose Byrne and a supporting cast that includes two Oscar winners—and that unhoused woman named Amanda Ogle is an Executive Producer. This is the stuff that makes you cheer for the little guy and also makes for a feel-good movie that actually gives you hope in an increasingly dire world.
So Ogle, who had nothing to hang on to but that car, and sadly separated from her only daughter who lives in Utah, saw her car stolen but recovered and abandoned the next day in front of an apartment building. Dick’s Tow was called by police to bring it in to their shop, and Ogle walked there among city streets to retrieve it. She was told it would cost her $427 to get it back. She didn’t have the money, so they kept the car. Not willing to accept this outcome, the Dick’s Tow employee handed her a form to file a request for review, but as it turns out, the name on that form was Lincoln Tow, which like Dick’s, is a subsidiary of Road One West. At a court hearing, only Amanda showed up, and the judge agreed she should simply be given her car back, no charge. Unfortunately, Dick’s Tow had already sold the car for a measly $175, plus the company’s lawyers objected, claiming Dick’s was never informed (technically it was Lincoln, which was mistakenly contacted). Thus began a protracted and frustrating legal mess, lasting 369 days, 22 hours, and 51 minutes (yes that is the real timing) and a final tow bill of—wait for it—$21,634, since as the case proceeded in court, Dick’s was charging $75 a day to store the car, which they had bought back.
Director Stephanie Laing (with a stirring feature film debut) and her screenwriters Jonathan Keasey and Brant Boivin have crafted all of this into an effective populist entertainment that not only puts a human face on the plight of the unhoused in our society, but demonstrates the cold-hearted facts of those unfortunate enough to have lost everything, well, except a beat-up old car they have to fight to get back. That is Ogle’s story, and looking pretty much exactly like the real thing with sunny hairstyle and outfit belying her situation (we see footage of the actual Ogle and her daughter during the end credits), Byrne simply inhabits this human being in ways that have us rooting for her and hoping for some kind of happy ending. On top of her widely praised performance in the recent Sundance sensation, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (due for release later in 2025 from A24), Byrne is proving this is her year, and then some, with another crackerjack portrayal that she knocks out of the park.
The legal battle is just a part of what Ogle’s story is all about, as we see her everyday existence and basic unwillingness to admit she is even on the streets, a different picture than how we often see the unhoused presented. This is a proud woman caught up in a broken system. When her car is taken away, and she literally has nothing but a roll-on suitcase she grabs from the trunk, not being able to pay the initial fee to the tow company, she finally has to find shelter at a church, which takes in unhoused women and is run by the super strict Barb (a terrific Octavia Spencer). It isn’t always easy, but there she interacts with some of the others, including troublemaker Jocelyn (Lea DeLaria), the feisty and funny Denise (Ariana DeBose), and another “resident,” Nova (Demi Lovato), who also gets to show off her musical talents, belting out ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ at the shelter’s holiday celebration (what do you expect when you have Lovato in the cast?). There is also the backstory, told through phone conversations and messages with her Utah-based daughter Avery (Elsie Fisher), with whom she is just hoping to somehow reunite without her knowing the dire straits of what her mother’s life has become. This part of the tale recalls a bit of Stella Dallas but keeps those kinds of teary dramatics at bay.
Since this is all an “inspired by” telling, not a documentary, we get a lot of colorful characters that come into play, including how she got her lawyer Kevin Eggers, here played wonderfully by Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers), as a young eager beaver who overhears her plight and woos her to help. There is also a change of pace for Simon Rex as Cliff, the understanding Dick’s Tow employee who at least shows some compassion in this nightmarish situation for Amanda. Definitely not showing any of that is the lawyer for the parent company, Martin La Rosa (a slick Corbin Bernsen) who is basically seen on the golf course trying to bat away any attempt by Eggers to deliver justice in this case.
Ultimately, Laing and company deliver a story of perseverance, heart,and real fight, the kind of small human story we see less frequently these days, but need now more than ever. Tow is a winner. It is looking for distribution. See it. Buy it.
Producers are Byrne, Laing, Brent Stiefel, Justin Lothrop, Brian O’Shea, Danyelle Foord, Josh Ricks and Samantha Nisenboim.
Title: Tow
Festival: Tribeca (Official Selection)
Director: Stephanie Laing
Screenwriters: Jonathan Keasey, Brant Boivin
Cast: Rose Byrne, Octavia Spencer, Ariana DeBose, Dominic Sessa, Demi Lovato, Simon Rex, Elsie Fisher, Lea DeLaria, Corbin Bernsen
Sales agent: CAA
Running time: 1 hr 45 mins
