Review of The Place Beyond the Pines (2013) by Stevenf — 06 Oct 2013

We initially meet Luke as he walks towards his day job as a stunt bike driver, suiting up with his back to the camera is Ryan Gosling as the heavily tattooed man, wearing tattered clothes and constantly smoking cigarettes, I was immediately reminded of Mickey Rourke walking from his day job as a butcher in 'The Wrestler' as he hears the crowd around him, Luke has a unique talent as one of the bike riders, but his world changes when a former flame, Romina (Eva Mendes) comes back into his life, he is inadvertently met with the news of having a son.

We realise the effect that news of such a multitude can hold, Luke changes his whole way of life in the hope of spending more time with his son, he runs into a friendly mechanic called Robin, he sees the talent in Luke but also sees it for a much more law-breaking sense.

Luke and Robin soon embark on various bank robberies, initially to make more money to support Lukes family, but he ends up enjoying the adrenaline rush that comes with the territory. Robin is played by Ben Mendelsohn, who has really taken a career leap after is limited but effective appearance in The Dark Knight Rises, through his actions, we see the dangerous man that Luke is, he adores his son but not many others, brought to meaning by a strong performance as Gosling who is continuing to climb the ranks as one of the most sought after leads in Hollywood.

But we also have a bigger picture, as an unprepared Luke runs into the law in the form of young cop Avery, played by Bradley Cooper,who takes the reins as the film begins to shift focus onto his character in fluid and well documented fashion, the cleverest part of this transition is the scenes that bare resemblances to earlier scenes involving Gosling, director Derek Cianfrance has did this to show the similarities of two men at opposite ends of the law, dealing with corruption, love and struggles in a marital relationship.

We he quite a scope of film which opens up various side plots and also has a few time jumps which addresses characters and their ongoing life. A very calculated and edgy story keeps this film interesting as it always keeps is guessing with little given away to what the outcome is going to be, it builds at a slow pace to give its more pivotal scenes that added sense of urgency, as Luke bikes along the road it's like we're on the bike with him, candid and thrilling.

We also have a small but memorable appearance from Ray Liotta, capitalising on grief while also being corrupt. The film finds its strength in its ability to piece everything together like a puzzle as the film moves forward, Dane DeHaan continues his hot streak in films with an almost show-stealing performance as the grown up son of Luke, while also starting a dysfunctional friendship with AJ (Emory Cohen), the son of Avery.

This is a fascinating piece that has various plots that all fit together, strong performances round off a dramatic and clever story that never gives too much away, a scene that DeHaan and Cooper share outlines everything we know from the film, Coopers character asks if his son is alright, to which DeHaan replies "This isn't about your f*****g son" but we immediately realise the film has everything to do with these children, a subtle yet powerful approach to a simplistic telling.