The world in the near future is in trouble. A man (Zac Efron) rides the rails like a hobo. He gets driven to a job at the gold dig site. Along the way, they stumble upon a giant gold rock, but they are unable to dig it out with their limited tools. The man is left guarding the rock as the driver heads off for some heavy equipment.

Zac is going solo for long segments of this movie. In a way, it's his Cast Away. He does a fine job as his character deteriorates. A few plot points do bug me. When he is left alone initially, I felt something is off with the plan. The Stranger felt too aggressive. I almost assumed that she's a hallucination. I don't know why he's so protective of her body. Let the dogs have it. Finally, there is the arrow. I would rather not have the arrow. It's more sweetly dark to let the man have his reward. All in all, this is a fine effort from Zac and it's an interesting little indie.

Original indie "Gold" shows what can be done with raw talent, a striking setting & little budget. In a vaguely post-apocalyptic world, tough loners Zac Efron & Anthony Hayes head for different reasons into a barren African desert... where they chance upon a huge rock of gold. Hayes goes for an excavator while Efron stays to guard the find - fighting dehydration, wild dogs, nomadic Susie Porter, snakes, scorpions, sand-storms et al. While it's a hard, visceral & gritty watch, Efron's performance is outstanding, matched by Hayes' direction (he ALSO wrote it - simply, yet steeped in clear messaging). Major props to both Hayes & Efron for making this dirty little gem of a film.

There actually is not much that is surprising about the story. I doubt many will be surprised by the twist at the end. If you can even call it that. But it is the journey (if you can call it that, no pun intended), the journey of Zac Efron. Now if you are scoffing at this, if you think he is just a pretty face and nothing more: think again. And watch things he has done that transcend his beauty (if you even think he is good looking).

This is quite the tour de force - and all that is done for what? Becoming rich - if that prospect sounds familiar to you ... if you understand how a human being starts to think once there is a ... golden opportunity (sorry for the pun), you understand our main character here too. Not much good can come from that. And a performace that can not be lauded enough! Zac carries the movie by himself for almost the entire running time on his own ... still has to be your cup of tea for you to like it understandably.