The Place Beyond the Pines

Spanning several generations and almost three decades, The Place Beyond the Pines is a cinematic achievement of epic proportions. The film follows a motorcycle stuntman turned bank robber trying to provide for his newfound family (played by Ryan Gosling), an honest hero cop trying to deal with a corrupt police department (played by Bradley Cooper), and later focuses on their sons (played by Dane DeHaan and Emory Cohen). This familial saga is about the sins of the fathers haunting the next generations of the family. As you've probably already guessed, I liked the movie. I liked it a lot. It's refreshing after some of the crap we've been getting in theaters lately. Director Derek Cianfrance sets a mood that feels very surreal or even hallucinatory, and he does this very well. Here is a director that knows what he is doing. I look forward to his future work. He also draws some very good performances from the more than capable ensemble of actors. Ryan Gosling gives an oscar worthy performance as a passionate father who would do almost anything to help his son have a better life, and Cooper is also particularly effective as a much less passionate father. Eva Mendes, playing Ramona, Gosling's character's ex lover and the mother of his newborn son, is a very caring mother indeed, trying simply to make a good life for her son. Newcomers Emory Cohen and Dane Dehaan prove themselves worthy of standing next to actors of the stature of Gosling and Cooper, Cohen's performance resembling that of Joaquin Phoenix's in The Master. The musical score is mesmerizing, cinematography looks fine, and it is written very well. Overall, a job well done.

9/10