The Place Beyond The Pines Review
The Place Beyond the Pines is a fantastic crime drama, a film that will keep you on the edge of your seat and by the end of it will leave you exhausted. Unfortunately there are a few niggles that keep the film from reaching perfection.
The title of the film suggests some sort of David Attenborough tree documentary, and I went into the film not knowing much at all about it. I feel that this helped with my engagement of it, as I had no idea where the film was going, what the general plot was, or know what any of the set pieces were. The plot spans 15 years, and follows two central characters, Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper, in the lead up to, and aftermath, of a police shootout. What astonished me was the way the central character completely changed halfway through the film, just as the audience begins connecting to the first one. Its a technique that carries risks, but a risk that in this picture pays off substantially. The narrative has moments where it needs a kick up the backside, it can sometimes drag, particularly towards the end, and here lies one of the faults that stops the film from being truly great. On the other hand the narrative does a good job of letting us connect with each character, and while it may be long (2 hours 20 mins!) in the end it pays off.
Aside from the narrative, the film is technically solid. The cinematography works well, while it does nothing new, it is beautiful, and captures the lush landscapes of the forests brilliantly. In terms of performances, there are some knockouts, with Gosling coming out on top with an impressive downplayed and somewhat touching performance. Bradley Cooper also plays an impressive part, surely on par with The Silver Linings Playbook, he's shaping up to be a reliable talent in the Hollywood landscape. Eva Mendes, who plays Ryan Goslings love interest, plays a stirring role as the mother who loses everything, and pulls it off wonderfully with her strong will coupled with her sensitive vulnerability.
The length of the film is really the main problem, with the pacing needing some fine tuning to tighten the overall narrative. The last segment involving the children of both of the main characters has its problems too, mostly due to the performance of AJ (Bradley's son in the film), his dialogue seems out of touch and overly stereotypical and reminded me of a teen comedy rather than a mature drama. Other than these niggles, I highly recommend this film to anyone looking for a superb drama fix, and to anyone who enjoys seeing Gosling or Cooper at their finest. A very solid film.
8/10
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