The Place Beyond the Pines
Go! Go for Gosling, stay for Cooper.
An ode to fatherhood.
In the past year, Ryan Gosling has elevated himself to the sharp pinnacle of Hollywood's slippery, glistening blade. The former Mickey Mouse clubber has achieved saintly status, with men and women alike gushing about him like the Niagara Falls of his homeland. While he does seem to be a pretty cool and charismatic chap in real life, like any other actor, deification can only be achieved through the roles that he plays; the magnificent but fictional men that he embodies. In 2012's Drive, he became the man that his myth suggested he was in reality - a handsome and mysterious stranger, cloaked in gentle and thoughtful sensitivity, which when undressed, revealed a romantic and throbbing aggression - brutal, but only ever exercised in the pursuit of honour and defence of the meek. The fact that he was a violent murderer didn't really matter, because he did it with so much swagger. I'm no lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that since Drive, "swagger" is now a legitimate defence for murder. And rightly so.
Most importantly, Gosling is a very engaging actor, able to deliver "something for everyone" in a single performance. Hopes were therefore high for The Place Beyond The Pines; its posters drenched with his million dollar mug. In the film, he plays another angry man (Luke), this time behind the handlebars of a motorbike rather than the wheel of a car.
Most importantly, Gosling is a very engaging actor, able to deliver "something for everyone" in a single performance. Hopes were therefore high for The Place Beyond The Pines; its posters drenched with his million dollar mug. In the film, he plays another angry man (Luke), this time behind the handlebars of a motorbike rather than the wheel of a car.
Rather than being the main focus of this film, he is its fiery ignition. It initially traces the consequences of his decision to start robbing local banks in order to support his family. The baton of focus then passes firmly to Bradley Cooper's ambitious young cop (Avery), and the plot thickens under the emulsifying impact of his connection to Luke. (I am being deliberately vague about the storyline, because there are some meaty surprises in this film and saying too much more would make me a bigger spoiler than that on the back of a Vauxhall Nova in Colchester).
Without going into too much detail, this story is not - as it may appear from the outset - about robbing banks, car chases, cynical police forces or even really cool facial tattoos of weeping knives. It is instead about compassion, or what happens when there is a lack of it; not only between strangers, but also crucially within families. Both Luke and Avery are fathers, and the consequences of their actions on their respective sons makes up the final act of the movie. In doing so, the story's relay is completed in the hands of the increasingly capable and always fragile, Dane DeHaan (Chronicle).
Without going into too much detail, this story is not - as it may appear from the outset - about robbing banks, car chases, cynical police forces or even really cool facial tattoos of weeping knives. It is instead about compassion, or what happens when there is a lack of it; not only between strangers, but also crucially within families. Both Luke and Avery are fathers, and the consequences of their actions on their respective sons makes up the final act of the movie. In doing so, the story's relay is completed in the hands of the increasingly capable and always fragile, Dane DeHaan (Chronicle).
With that finale, the film can be clearly divided into three fairly distinct stories over its 2 hour 20 minute running time, with a different protagonist for each. For this structure to work, the three stories need to be tightly and legitimately strung together. This is where the films engine stalls slightly. Particularly with the different pacing of each story, there is often a lack of thrust. It appears that in order to keep the running time reasonable, purposeful scenes have been removed; depriving us of the chance to fully embrace the characters, and slightly neutering what is, in parts, a virile movie.
Nonetheless, this remains a very good film; with solid acting, particularly from Bradley Cooper who, since Silver Linings Playbook, is no longer just "that good-looking guy off of The Hangover". Besides that, the film makes an honest attempt to thread together the elusive concepts of fatherhood, masculinity and the inevitable outcome of one's past into a single, well-fitting garment. Not only does it do a good job, it just so happens that that garment is, in no small part, a sleeveless t-shirt housing Ryan Gosling on a motorbike. Vroom vroom, ladies, swoon swoon.
So get yourself down there and let The Place Beyond the Pines take you to a place beyond what you would have envisaged.
Nonetheless, this remains a very good film; with solid acting, particularly from Bradley Cooper who, since Silver Linings Playbook, is no longer just "that good-looking guy off of The Hangover". Besides that, the film makes an honest attempt to thread together the elusive concepts of fatherhood, masculinity and the inevitable outcome of one's past into a single, well-fitting garment. Not only does it do a good job, it just so happens that that garment is, in no small part, a sleeveless t-shirt housing Ryan Gosling on a motorbike. Vroom vroom, ladies, swoon swoon.
So get yourself down there and let The Place Beyond the Pines take you to a place beyond what you would have envisaged.
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