Review of The Place Beyond the Pines (2013) by Steegpilgrim — 08 May 2013

Looking at the promo poster for The Place Beyond the Pines, we are immediately intrigued as to how director Derek Cianfrance is going to balance the play between the big names on display. The answer is: unconventionally.

Ryan Gosling is a man of many talents, none of which are much of a secret. However, his cold, hard stare which adorns said poster is a clear indication that Luke, his character in this film, will be much closer to the enigmatic yet volatile hard-nut of Drive than, say, the sweethearted bohemian Noah whom he brought to life in The Notebook.

And so the film opens with an Aronofsky-esque behind-the-head tracking shot of Gosling as he saunters from a grotty portacabin to his colloseum: the spherical cage in which he performs his dirt bike stunts. This shot is uninterrupted by cuts for a good five minutes. This film's beauty is in the simplicity.

Cianfrance displays many fine examples of his directorial expertise throughout the 140 minute runtime of TPBTP. Whether it's his intricate manipulation of silhouettes like those of Jason (Dane De Haan) and AJ (Emory Cohen, a young talent to keep a look out for, FYI) just as the boys' friendship is flourishing, or its his command of the expansive landscapes of upstate New York during the films closing scenes, no visuals on display here are anything short of impressive.

Bradley Cooper turns in a fine role. He's becoming quite a staple feature in Hollywood and this time he takes a turn as a good cop (which are few and far between in this movie) who then pursues a career in politics, all whilst battling troubles with family life and an over-bearing father with whom he evidently has some unresolved issues. It's a fine performance from Cooper, meanwhile, Eva Mendes just looks smashing as always.

The tracking head shots are used to introduce a shift in the character being focussed on, something the film does no less than 4 times. While this is a bold idea which could fall flat on its face, Cianfrance deploys it with precision and keeps the film at a consistent pace for its duration.

All in all, this is a film which explores, love, loss and desperation in depth. It is expertly directed, and the narrative does not suffer as a result of the ambitious directing. The fact that the film can dispose of a megastar like Gosling when the film is only 50 minutes old (What? This review was marked as spoiler-prone) and continue to be highly entertaining speaks for itself.

The Place Beyond the Pines will leave you with a lasting impression long after Jason's dirt bike takes him into the unknown and gets the end credits rolling.