Review of The Place Beyond the Pines (2013) by Tristan M — 11 Dec 2015

I really had no idea about how this movie would play out, as it had a less than informative description and same goes for the trailer, although the trailer looked really good. This was a good, different, and well done movie for sure.

The first bit was how I expected, stunt guy who doesn't know he has a son, quits his job so he can be around him and hopes to provide for him. However it takes him down a bad path and he begins robbing banks.

He wants to give to his son, but the mother won't have it. Then it all goes south when he gets busted and his operation leaves him working by himself and gets shot and killed by the police. It's a really well done section for sure, the story is great, with good acting, pace, script and music.

The second half got me by surprise as it was a whole new story, about his grown up son and the son of the cop who killed him. I was wondering for the longest time about this 'place beyond the pines', which eventually came into play twice as two different people try and execute Bradley Coopers character, neither of which are successful.

How a kid would try and kill him I don't know, but thankfully he didn't pull the trigger. It's a very different story, and shows the roads kids go down even if their parents are good or not, or how much time they spend with each other.

Its a story that spans a large timeframe, and has a little bit of everything in it. Some great actors, and everything is well done. Good movie, something different yet it's all good.