CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Tow: Victims of a Heartless Society

Rose Byrne in a still from “Tow.”

There are many victims of the social class struggle in the United States since the postwar economy ended at the close of the Vietnam War, the death knell for Pax Americana. An estimated 3 million Americans, euphemistically called the unhoused, live in their vehicles, roughly equivalent to the population of the state of Arkansas. 

On that dismal note, Tow is a feature film, set in Seattle, Washington, and streaming on Kanopy. Tow dramatizes the life of one woman, a victim of the class war, Amanda Ogle, a divorcee with a teenage daughter. The mother-daughter duo lives apart, a trauma for them. 

Rose Byrne’s characterization of Ogle is spot on. She blends resiliency and vulnerability, portraying a low-income American who spends a year of her life in financial and legal limbo while battling corporate predators. They monetize her stolen and impounded car, resulting in a $21,634 tow bill. It’s a payday loan on steroids, in........

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