Ryan Gosling and his Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance reunite with a star studded cast for a crime drama titled The Place Beyond the Pines. In the film, Ryan Gosling plays Luke, a motorcycle rider who discovers that his lover (Eva Mendes) from a year ago had a baby…and it’s his. Determined to make things right and to provide for both his son and former partner, Gosling turns to robbing banks as a means to secure cash. This eventually leads to a run-in with an ambitious rookie cop named Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper) who will do what he can to take down Gosling while also trying to figure out how to earn an honest living in a department run by a crooked detective (Ray Liotta).
I found The Place Beyond the Pines to be a risky film. First off, the film is one of those rare movies where it spans a generation, allowing the past to haunt the future showing that some things in life do come full circle and escape doesn’t seem to be a real option. This was a ballsy move because it makes events that happen later in the film seem highly unlikely, SPOILER namely the chance meeting between Luke and Avery’s sons, Jason (Dane DeHaan) and AJ (Emory Cohen) who spark up a temporary friendship END SPOILER. I also found the title to be an interesting choice. The Place Beyond the Pines is a location, somewhere in the forest, where people are taken as a way to threaten their lives. It happens only twice in the movie but both scenes are very significant and impactful to one of our leads but having an effect on multiple characters.
The Place Beyond the Pines isn’t a bad movie, it’s just a long film that becomes rather predictable after a while. My main issue with the feature is not that it comes full circle, that I like, but that we don’t get to witness the potential turmoil Avery might experience after being a witness against his fellow officers for the crimes they committed. It can’t be easy for someone in the police department to give people up, let alone try to work with the same department after the former detectives are put on trial; cops aren’t that forgiving so it would have been interesting to see his psychological strength or temporary breakdown.
The biggest risk the film takes is completely changing the protagonist…twice. The first lead is Ryan Gosling who is the focal point of the first chapter, but then he leaves and Bradley Cooper becomes the focal point but, like Gosling he almost completely disappears come the third chapter. SPOILER. Once he does, the film focuses on the relationship between Luke and Avery’s sons, Jason (Dane DeHaan) and AJ (Emory Cohen), with Jason being the main focal point as he tries to learn about the identity of his father. END SPOILER.
What keeps the film propelling forward is the strong cast and 
the performances they deliver. Ryan Gosling’s character is simply badass, both in appearance and in action. Though his robbery yelling sounds like a teenager going through puberty, he’s a rebel motorcycle rider trying to be a good father which means he can do no wrong in the eyes of the audience. Eva Mendes (Gosling’s real girlfriend) plays her part as the distraught lover well. Basically, she cries when she needs to and that’s pretty much it. Bradley Cooper looks like he’s going for another attempt at an award’s nomination but while he is good, I don’t think his performance stands out much until the end of the film which is also when Dane DeHann shines during an emotional breakdown.
Though somewhat predictable, The Place Beyond the Pines is a pretty good film that makes it a point come full circle and explain in detail the background of each of its characters in an attempt to leave no stone left unturned. Cianfrance has his character developing skills down and is obviously willing to take risks when telling a story but there are only a few moments throughout the film that struck an emotional chord or found a way to rile me up and most of that happened early on in the film leaving me in an emotionally plateaued state for the rest of the film. I think the movie is a must-see if you’re a fan of any of the talent but there is no urgency to seeing it, it’s one of those films you should just get around to eventually since there is nothing to reflect upon when the credits begin to roll.
Rating: A well shot film about how life can come full circle but its eventual predictability doesn’t leave you with much to think about come the end (6.9/10)
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