"The Place Beyond the Pines" - directed by Derek Cianfrance
If the poster to this film makes it look like a grim affair you ain't seen nothin' yet.
Coming out of this film I was so glad that a preview screening of "Despicable Me 2" was just five minutes and a short walk away.
I needed the cheering up.
Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy "The Place Beyond the Pines" - I did.
It is a gripping, sometimes harrowing movie with a great cast.
Ryan Gosling stars as a circus motorcycle rider.
In a long opening shot we see him dress and walk through the circus finally arriving at the tent in which his motorcycle awaits.
He joins his team and they enter the wheel of death cage to perform their rules of physics defying act.
Adorned (apparently) head to toe in tattoo's of decidedly limited artistic merit it is clear that this character is one who skirts societal norms.
The opening frames of that long opening shot hover over Gosling's shirtless torso.
To paraphrase Emma Stone in "Crazy Stupid Love" he still looks photoshopped.
We don't see his face until he finally mounts the motorcycle.
It is the entrance of a star for sure but it is also a somewhat misleading one.
There's a reason that the credits and the posters place Gosling and Bradley Cooper side by side.
This film belongs equally to both.
How and why is better left unexplained because to do so would require entry into spoiler heavy territory.
I am getting a little concerned about Gosling's choices of late.
As much as I love "Drive" it did herald the start of a phase he seems to have entered into in which he plays quiet loners prone to fits of violent rage.
Even his character in "Gangster Squad" was a more mainstream variant of the strong silent man with a personal code that he seems to be refining to the point where I wouldn't be surprised to see him take on a role completely bereft of dialogue.
Just lots of anger (Based on the trailers for "Only God Forgives" it could happen).
And so it is with Luke in "The Place Beyond the Pines".
He doesn't say much - not even when he is trying to win back the affections of ex Romina (Eva Mendes).
He discovers that her infant son is his child and determines to find a way for the three to have a life together.
Couple of roadblocks here.... Romina has a new man and Luke has no money and no job since he quit the Circus gig in order to stay in town.
New friend Robin (Ben Mendelsohn) has a suggestion - Luke could rob a bank.
This decision leads to a series of events that will affect every character for years to come.
Violence, loss, betrayal and scheming ensue.
There is a sense of foregone conclusion to many of the events that spring from Lukes decision.
Perhaps a little 'sins of the Father' about the way that his actions reverberate across years of time.
Luke will collide with police officer Avery (Bradley Cooper) and both men's lives will change forever.
While Gosling seems to be merely retooling previous performances to create Luke, Bradley Cooper has never been better as Avery.
He has a key dialogue scene with a psychologist that he pulls off with a subtlety to his performance that I didn't think he had in him.
As good as he was in "Silver Linings Playbook" this is the better performance.
Also good is Dane DeHaan ("Chronicle", "Lincoln").
As the story unfolds and the weight of coincidence makes itself know it is the performances of Cooper and DeHaan that matter the most.
Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn has had some high profile roles of late in the likes of "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Killing Them Softly" and here he is very good indeed as Robin.
Robin perhaps represents the most clear example of a trait that is present in all of the characters.
Their actions are not always completely transparent. We are not always sure of their intentions.
Romina seems very faithful to new man Kofi who has taken on her son as his own and provided a home for them but she still sleeps with Luke.
She poses very publicly for a family shot of Luke, their son and of course Lukes every present motorocycle.
(Note that Gosling and Mendes are a real life couple too)
This is a bullishly amoral movie.
Not once does it ever present these characters through a judgmental lens.
All moral judgment comes from other characters - not the filmmakers.
It makes it a tense affair with no one character to hang on to as a moral centre.
All characters are capable of devious, sometimes violent acts.
The way in which fate throws them all together with each characters action flowing on to the next and the next also makes it a fairly harrowing affair.
It's an easy film to recommend based on the quality of every aspect- the acting, direction and overall production are top notch.
But be warned that this is hardly a feel good movie.
Coming out of this film I was so glad that a preview screening of "Despicable Me 2" was just five minutes and a short walk away.
I needed the cheering up.
Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy "The Place Beyond the Pines" - I did.
It is a gripping, sometimes harrowing movie with a great cast.
Ryan Gosling stars as a circus motorcycle rider.
In a long opening shot we see him dress and walk through the circus finally arriving at the tent in which his motorcycle awaits.
He joins his team and they enter the wheel of death cage to perform their rules of physics defying act.
Adorned (apparently) head to toe in tattoo's of decidedly limited artistic merit it is clear that this character is one who skirts societal norms.
The opening frames of that long opening shot hover over Gosling's shirtless torso.
To paraphrase Emma Stone in "Crazy Stupid Love" he still looks photoshopped.
We don't see his face until he finally mounts the motorcycle.
It is the entrance of a star for sure but it is also a somewhat misleading one.
There's a reason that the credits and the posters place Gosling and Bradley Cooper side by side.
This film belongs equally to both.
How and why is better left unexplained because to do so would require entry into spoiler heavy territory.
As much as I love "Drive" it did herald the start of a phase he seems to have entered into in which he plays quiet loners prone to fits of violent rage.
Even his character in "Gangster Squad" was a more mainstream variant of the strong silent man with a personal code that he seems to be refining to the point where I wouldn't be surprised to see him take on a role completely bereft of dialogue.
Just lots of anger (Based on the trailers for "Only God Forgives" it could happen).
And so it is with Luke in "The Place Beyond the Pines".
He doesn't say much - not even when he is trying to win back the affections of ex Romina (Eva Mendes).
He discovers that her infant son is his child and determines to find a way for the three to have a life together.
 |
| Gosling and Mendes |
New friend Robin (Ben Mendelsohn) has a suggestion - Luke could rob a bank.
This decision leads to a series of events that will affect every character for years to come.
Violence, loss, betrayal and scheming ensue.
There is a sense of foregone conclusion to many of the events that spring from Lukes decision.
Perhaps a little 'sins of the Father' about the way that his actions reverberate across years of time.
Luke will collide with police officer Avery (Bradley Cooper) and both men's lives will change forever.
While Gosling seems to be merely retooling previous performances to create Luke, Bradley Cooper has never been better as Avery.
He has a key dialogue scene with a psychologist that he pulls off with a subtlety to his performance that I didn't think he had in him.
As good as he was in "Silver Linings Playbook" this is the better performance.
 |
| Dane DeHaan |
As the story unfolds and the weight of coincidence makes itself know it is the performances of Cooper and DeHaan that matter the most.
Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn has had some high profile roles of late in the likes of "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Killing Them Softly" and here he is very good indeed as Robin.
Robin perhaps represents the most clear example of a trait that is present in all of the characters.
Their actions are not always completely transparent. We are not always sure of their intentions.
Romina seems very faithful to new man Kofi who has taken on her son as his own and provided a home for them but she still sleeps with Luke.
She poses very publicly for a family shot of Luke, their son and of course Lukes every present motorocycle.
(Note that Gosling and Mendes are a real life couple too)
 |
| Bradley Cooper as Avery |
Not once does it ever present these characters through a judgmental lens.
All moral judgment comes from other characters - not the filmmakers.
It makes it a tense affair with no one character to hang on to as a moral centre.
All characters are capable of devious, sometimes violent acts.
The way in which fate throws them all together with each characters action flowing on to the next and the next also makes it a fairly harrowing affair.
It's an easy film to recommend based on the quality of every aspect- the acting, direction and overall production are top notch.
But be warned that this is hardly a feel good movie.
| Rated | R16 for violence and profanity |
| Running Time: | 140 minutes (2hrs, 16 mins without end credits) |
| Starring: |
| Ryan Gosling | --- Luke |
| Eva Mendes | --- Romina |
| Dane DeHaan | --- Jason |
| Bradley Cooper | --- Avery Cross |
| Rose Byrne | --- Jennifer |
| Emory Cohen | --- AJ |
| Harris Yulin | --- Al Cross |
| Ben Mendelsohn | --- Robin |
| Craig Van Hook | --- Jack |
| Bruce Greenwood | --- District Attorney Killcullen |
| Ray Liotta | --- Officer Deluca |
| Mahershala Ali | --- Kofi |
| Olga Merediz | --- Malena |
| Rev. John Facci | --- Priest |
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