We begin with a long follow-shot of a tattoo-clad motorcyclist walking through a circus and end sixteen years later with a boy on a motorcycle driving off into the horizon. The opening shot is evocative of Scorsese-esque camera style, and the concluding shot contains so much emotion in its simplicity that we can't help but see the poetic genius in the film’s circular ending. Derek Cianfrance, the skilled and passionate director of the emotive Blue Valentine, pairs again with Ryan Gosling for this extended epic of paternal relationships, crime, corruption, morality, and consequences.
The Place Beyond the Pines, the title a reference to the setting in Schenectady, New York, begins with Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling) walking across the circus and into a tent, where he joins two other men on motorcycles inside a metal ball. The three speed up and continue to ride around and around the cage at high speeds, defying the laws of gravity in a collision of the senses that mesmerizes. Then we meet Romina (Eva Mendes), who after a brief fling with Luke a year before now has his baby, but lives with a new man and is trying to get her life on track by going back to school. Luke quits the circus to be around his son more, and begins working at a small auto shop with a mechanic named Robin to get some cash for his boy. Robin leads him towards a life of crime, helping Luke rob banks to get cash for his son.
The Place Beyond the Pines, the title a reference to the setting in Schenectady, New York, begins with Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling) walking across the circus and into a tent, where he joins two other men on motorcycles inside a metal ball. The three speed up and continue to ride around and around the cage at high speeds, defying the laws of gravity in a collision of the senses that mesmerizes. Then we meet Romina (Eva Mendes), who after a brief fling with Luke a year before now has his baby, but lives with a new man and is trying to get her life on track by going back to school. Luke quits the circus to be around his son more, and begins working at a small auto shop with a mechanic named Robin to get some cash for his boy. Robin leads him towards a life of crime, helping Luke rob banks to get cash for his son.
Then, when one of Luke's jobs goes horribly wrong, the focus of the film shifts. Law school graduate and rookie cop Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper) also has a son the same age as Luke’s, and their stories have been running more parallel than they can imagine. Avery crosses Luke’s path as he’s escaping from a crime scene, and in a tense turn of events Avery corners Luke in a house and shoots him, causing Luke to fall out of a window to his death. Avery is heralded a hero, but behind the medal we see his true dilemma. After finding out about Luke’s son, Avery is barely able to look at his own boy, always aware of the fact that someone just like him will have to grow up without a father because of his actions.
Avery is smart and well principled, at least at first, but as he encounters more and more corruption within the Schenectady police force he slowly loses his resilience. Ray Liotta makes an appearance here as an older officer who provides most of the corrupt tension of this chapter, including a finger-biting dinner scene which on its surface seems far more casual than we know it really is. The film also contains a third act set fifteen years after the events at the beginning of the film, where Luke and Avery’s sons meet, once more crashing these two families into one another.
Cianfrance directs with audacity and a display of incredible talent. He evokes some of the greatest performances of their careers from all of his stars, and he manages their respective characters with skill. The progression of the story through all three acts has been written near flawlessly, and while the film looses some steam towards the second half, it still more than justifies its entire 140-minute runtime. Killing off your lead actor less than halfway through the film is a bold move, especially when he’s played by someone as likeable and gifted as Gosling, yet Cianfrance transitions the focus elegantly and doesn’t lose us in the first act, instead he entices us to become even more deeply involved in these characters lives.
Avery is smart and well principled, at least at first, but as he encounters more and more corruption within the Schenectady police force he slowly loses his resilience. Ray Liotta makes an appearance here as an older officer who provides most of the corrupt tension of this chapter, including a finger-biting dinner scene which on its surface seems far more casual than we know it really is. The film also contains a third act set fifteen years after the events at the beginning of the film, where Luke and Avery’s sons meet, once more crashing these two families into one another.
Cianfrance directs with audacity and a display of incredible talent. He evokes some of the greatest performances of their careers from all of his stars, and he manages their respective characters with skill. The progression of the story through all three acts has been written near flawlessly, and while the film looses some steam towards the second half, it still more than justifies its entire 140-minute runtime. Killing off your lead actor less than halfway through the film is a bold move, especially when he’s played by someone as likeable and gifted as Gosling, yet Cianfrance transitions the focus elegantly and doesn’t lose us in the first act, instead he entices us to become even more deeply involved in these characters lives.
Ryan Gosling gives an amazing performance as Luke, his understanding of the character shown in every scene. Gosling has a rare talent, even among actors, to read emotion in every scene and to only show it in the subtlest of ways. His Luke is a beast trapped inside his moral being, calm and collected at most times, but the energy and power to strike out always dwells just beneath the surface. Bradley Cooper also performs strongly alongside Gosling, his character questioning our own morality much like Gosling’s. Cooper has been creating quite a name for himself, first with an Oscar nod for Silver Linings Playbook, and now here as Avery Cross. In a supporting role, Eva Mendes outshines most of her other memorable roles as a desperate yet very brave Romina.
Complementing Cianfrance’s direction and the entire cast’s outstanding acting are both a tremendous musical score and fantastic cinematography. The original score is filled with mood-setting piano for the drama and guitar licks for the chase scenes. Sean Bobbitt, cinematographer of Steve McQueen’s movies such as Shame or Hunger, films The Place Beyond the Pines with a wonderful attention to the scenes themselves. Filming on 35mm, Bobbitt and Cianfrance have composed a beautiful film with tension in both the action and dialogue, often complimented by shots of beauty. It’s a unique contrast, and this film certainly packs more than most – the scenes about corruption alone could lend themselves to a whole separate film – but in The Place Beyond the Pines everything has come together to create this terrific epic of corruption, family, and consequences.
Complementing Cianfrance’s direction and the entire cast’s outstanding acting are both a tremendous musical score and fantastic cinematography. The original score is filled with mood-setting piano for the drama and guitar licks for the chase scenes. Sean Bobbitt, cinematographer of Steve McQueen’s movies such as Shame or Hunger, films The Place Beyond the Pines with a wonderful attention to the scenes themselves. Filming on 35mm, Bobbitt and Cianfrance have composed a beautiful film with tension in both the action and dialogue, often complimented by shots of beauty. It’s a unique contrast, and this film certainly packs more than most – the scenes about corruption alone could lend themselves to a whole separate film – but in The Place Beyond the Pines everything has come together to create this terrific epic of corruption, family, and consequences.