The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)

Genre: Crime, Drama

Release Date: March 29, 2013 (USA)

My Rating:   ★ ★ ★ ★   (out of   ★ ★ ★ ★)
      (Click here for more info on my rating scale)



An emotionally riveting, multi-layered, thought-provoking masterpiece.

The Place Beyond the Pines opens with a very long tracking shot that follows a motorcycle stunt driver, Luke (Ryan Gosling), across a carnival and into a tent containing the spherical metal stunt cage.  This long tracking is an indicator that this is going to be an ambitious, self-aware piece of filmmaking.  And that’s what it is.  Piercing through jumble of other films of the early spring like a high-intensity electromagnetic wave comes The Place Beyond the Pines, a well-written, well-acted, well-directed, emotional, intelligent, suspenseful, multi-layered, thought-provoking film, and, in my opinion, one of the best films of the year so far.  It is three-part drama that unfolds over a completely justified running length of nearly two and a half hours.

The first part of the film is about the aforementioned tattooed motorcycle stunt daredevil, Luke, a good-hearted but reckless and troubled man.  Ryan Gosling puts on an excellent performance, bringing this character to life.  A great portion of his performance is dialogue-free and big on actions and facial expressions.  When he does speak, he speaks quietly and deliberately.

Eva Mendes plays Romina, whom Luke had slept with in the past, and is now the mother of his infant son as a result of that fling.  She is now with another man, but Luke, determined to provide for her and his son, quits his job as a motorcycle stunt driver and resorts to robbing banks to provide for them.  This is a bad decision, obviously, and it leads to even worse decisions.

This eventually leads Luke to cross paths with police officer named Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper).  Pretty soon, the first act ends.  The second act focuses on Avery, whom Bradley Cooper portrays with an outstanding performance.  Avery is an ambitious rookie cop who looks to quickly move up the ranks in the corruption-riddled police department in which he works.  The third act of the film takes place fifteen years after the end of the second act, and it focuses on the sons of Luke and Avery, who are now in high school and are haunted by the past sins of their fathers.

I don’t like this film as much as, say, The Godfather, but it is pretty far up there; it is bold and innovative, with a strong emphasis on character and plot development; it is a good example of expert storytelling.  Also, this film has a very strong personal touch to it; I truly cared about the characters and felt all of the emotions that they felt throughout the course of their experiences – love, guilt, emotional torment, embarrassment, stress, etc.  As the story progresses, it takes some surprising and sometimes shocking turns, and there is a riveting sense of tension all the way through the film.

This film is great character study, and it really gives us some things to think about.  It explores themes including, but not limited to, guilt, justice, revenge, love, and even a father’s love for his son.  However, there is one theme that stands out above the others explored in the film: consequences.  Actions have consequences, the effects of which affect other people and the world, and can even ripple through time and generations.  The film emphasizes and illustrates this theme very strongly, and it gives us some good food for thought on the subject.

The movie is excellently filmed, and while the camera work and cinematography is by no means the primary draw of the film, it really enhanced the experience and helped pull me into the film.  The music score is also very good.  Overall, I can think of very little to criticize about this film.  Although, I do have to admit, the third act of the film was slightly less powerful than the previous two, and a little too slow.  But I still found it very compelling.

Again, overall, this film is en excellent example of what can result from a great script, great performances, great directing, and lots of heart and emotional punch.  This film has one of the strongest and most genuine heartbeats that I have felt in a film in quite a while.  I highly recommend this film.

Remember, actions have consequences.  Never forget that.  Negative actions result in negative consequences.  Good actions result in good consequences.  For example, Derek Cianfrance put in a great deal of focus and effort into making this film, and the consequence is that he made an emotionally riveting, multi-layered, thought-provoking masterpiece, which has earned high praise from me, and will hopefully at least receive an Oscar nomination.

Cast and Credits:
Luke: Ryan Gosling
Romina: Eva Mendes
Avery Cross: Bradley Cooper
Deluca: Ray Liotta

Focus features presents
A film directed by Derek Cianfrance
Running time: 140 min.

Rated R for language throughout, some violence, teen drug and alcohol use, and a sexual reference.