If the headlining name “Zac Efron” is what caught your attention, brace yourself for something special. His high profile career spanning from musicals like High School Musical and The Greatest Showman to comedies like Neighbors and Baywatch has shown that Efron’s acting capabilities spans the gamut. Gold, directed by Anthony Hayes who also co-stars in the film, is further evidence of Efron’s excellence as an actor beyond the heartthrob roles we’ve come to know him for. Gold features a story that is lean and minimal, yet potent and unforgettable, thanks to Efron’s strong solo performance and Hayes’ remarkable sense of filmmaking.

Gold takes place in a not-so-distant future where Efron’s unnamed character is on the final leg of his journey to a destination called “The Compound”. There, he has high hopes for a work opportunity that could put him in a better position in life. To complete the trip, he must ride with a rugged unnamed transporter (Anthony Hayes) through the desert. But when the vehicle breaks down, the men discover that - by a stroke of luck - they’ve happened upon a massive chunk of buried gold. Realizing they cannot unearth the discovery with shovels, they formulate a plan for the transporter to leave and bring back an excavator while Efron’s character stays and guards the gold. What transpires in the desert with this isolated man, however, puts this character's mental stability and physical safety in jeopardy.

With a small cast and a significant portion of the 97 minute runtime focused exclusively on the protagonist’s plight, Gold is a film that heavily relies on a strong performance from Efron - a challenge that Efron rises to the occasion for. With piercingly radiant eyes amidst the muted neutral colors of outfits, objects, and landscapes, Efron offers his naive yet determined character a level of fortitude and will power that fills even the vast space of the desert he occupies.

Gold, after all, is a story about survival and the stamina of the human spirit. With a fortune at stake, the narrative puts Efron’s character through grueling conditions and forces him to make tough decisions. Just as importantly as pushing the narrative forward, the plot points lend themselves to self-reflection on the part of the audience - even I often found myself asking, what lengths would I go to for the amount of wealth that is on the line? And that’s part of what keeps Gold a fascinating experience as the series of events rattles this character’s psyche. Especially upon the arrival of a stranger midway through the film, played by Susie Porter, whose ominous presence and murky intentions infuse an additional level of uncertainty in an already overwhelming scenario.

Taking place in a setting as open as the Australian desert comes with many of the anxieties that small, tight spaces can provide. With our underprepared protagonist facing threats like sand storms, ravenous wolves, and low trustworthiness of unknown strangers, Gold packs a big punch with its prudent approach to conflict. Featuring limited settings, cast, and expository context, Hayes and co-writer Polly Smyth craft a script that intentionally leaves out extraneous details about characters’ pasts and the state of the world in which Gold takes place in, allowing audiences the space to exercise their own imagination - a natural and organic enhancement of this already riveting experience.

Gold, in fact, is comparable to Wyatt Rockefeller’s sci-fi film Settlers, which debuted in 2021 at Tribeca Film Festival. In my review of that film, I state, “Trust is not easy to lend, and much of the drama in this film hinges on how little this family can trust this intruder while having no choice but to cooperate with him.” The same sentiment can be echoed - and equally appreciated - here in Gold. The common theme of mistrust between main characters in an isolated desert setting amongst a minimally detailed world holds ample opportunity for a thrilling small-scale narrative experience.

Within Gold is a marketable mainstream concept that optimizes mindful pacing, capitalizes on the talent of its headlining star, and ends on a wild last-minute twist. Efron may be considered the star attraction in Gold, but this is a film that has a lot working in its favor and deserves to be experienced on the big screen. Like gold discovered in the desert, this film is a fantastic treasure to have stumbled upon.

Acting and Casting - 2 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 2 | Entertainment Value - 2 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 1 | Reviewer's Preference - 2 | What does this mean?