Three acts, each related, yet extremely separate. The Place Beyond the Pines is an ambitious character study that suffers in the end from its greatest achievements. The film boasts a lot to be commented on. It's realistic dialogue, brilliant long takes and impressive visuals are just a few of many positives that Derek Cianfrance has brought to the table here, yet, it's in these aforementioned pros that causes the film to suffer. 2 hours 20 minutes is just too long for what the film is trying to be. It had stretched so far from its original message that getting back to the point by the end was a grueling task, that unfortunately exhausted all narratives as well as us in the audience.
To diverge the basic plot would involve numerous spoilers, so to simplify, the three acts involve three different character arcs. The first, motorcycle stuntman Luke (Ryan Gosling) realises an old flame had given birth to his child, and so attempts to get involved and care for the baby by robbing local banks. The second, Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper) is a local police officer, recuperating from a being shot by Luke and attempting to mend his shaken psyche after the ordeal. The finale, 15 years later, both Luke and Cross' children run into each other at school, and they begin to connect over their numerous unsociable habits.
The first stint involving a tattoo clad Ryan Gosling wasn't too far short of fantastic. He had the air of a 21st century James Dean; exuberant charisma and a performance that stole the show, so much so that once his plot arc had come to its untimely end, the rest of the film despite being good in parts, is left only as a means of longing for the first hour to come back. Bradley Cooper does put in an equally good performance, yet the tour de force that Gosling pushed so graciously quickly flattens out, leaving little but memories of how amazing it truly was.
The second act also has the problem of throwing you off on the meaning of the film. It is here in which the film starts to stretch its universe into hard to reach places, and what seemed like a simple character study now appears to be attempting some deep thought that isn't at all apparent. A completely separate story begins to develop, and you're left wandering about Luke's story and how it's still connected. When Cianfrance should be holding on to this, the film's greatest success, it seems more like he's trying to make you forget in such a swift and confusing manner.
If the first act was great, and the second decent, the third carried on with that decline. Though Luke's son Jason (Chronicle star Dane DeHaan) has some acting merit, AJ (Emory Cohen) who plays Cross' son had some of the most hateful mannerisms I've seen on screen. This entire plot was basically pointless, had little resonance in emotion or cinematography, and only produced confusion in why it was there. It was only in its ending, in which the power of fatherhood is shown to be the moral undertone in the film (finally!) is the reason for its inclusion evident. Basically what had happened is that the film had overstretched too far for its point, and in order to bring it all back for it to reach Cianfrance's original aim, the extensive run time and third arc filler was needed. Understandable, yet unfortunate.
Despite its pitfalls, the film is a good one. Similarly to Blue Valentine, it has a sense of realism not in its narrative, but in its characters, who portray characters and behaviours in down to earth ways. There's no complicated dialogue or fluid screen cuts, but it flows in story while at the same time being still in direction, as we watch from afar as it all unravels. Though the sentiment in its moralistic fibres is a sweet one, the way it was attempted was just too great to handle, and there was little chance of the rest of the film living up to Gosling's attraction. Despite such, it should be hailed for its originality, and Cianfrance in my opinion is only on the up in the incoming future.
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Run Time: 140 Minutes
Release Year: 2013
Nationality: American
IMDB Rating: 7.8
My Grade:
B-
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