Without these back stories, and with the movie weighted down by the earnest but wooden performances of main characters Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling) and Hank Rearden (Grant Bowler), it's going to be hard to get general audiences engaged.
Because nature abhors a vacuum, TaylorSchilling ("Mercy") steps it up and brings at least a modicum of life to the party as Beth, the divorced Louisiana kennel-owner who happens to be in the market for a dog walker.