The Place Beyond the Pines
2.5/4
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ryan Gosling, Ray Liotta, Ben Mendehlson, Rose Byrne, Dane DeHaan, Emory Cohen, Bruce Greenwood, Mahershala Ali, Harris Yulin
Rated R for Language Throughout, Some Violence, Teen Drug and Alcohol Use, and a Sexual Reference
There's no denying that Derek Cianfriance's sophomore feature is ambitious and has potential. But while there are elements that are worthy of high praise, the film is too problematic for me to recommend.
Luke (Gosling) is a stunt motorcycle rider for a travelling circus. He wants to reconnect with an old flame, a pretty waitress named Romina (Mendes), but she's already in a relationship with Kofi (Ali). But Romina has given birth to Luke's son, of which she only just now has informed him. Luke wants to provide for his new baby, but a job is hard to come by. With the help of a mechanic named Robin (Mendelsohn), Luke takes up robbing banks. But then he has an interaction with a police officer named Avery (Cooper), which changes their lives forever. Avery is now known as a hero, although rising in the police force has its drawbacks as he is strong-armed into becoming corrupt. Fifteen years later, Luke's son Jason (DeHaan) and Avery's son AJ (Cohen) become friends, although because of their personalities and their fathers' relationship, this friendship is primed to explode.
"The Place Among The Pines" contrasts Luke and Avery, and how their actions influence the lives of their children. This kind of story is brimming with potential, but due to the way Cianfriance writes and directs the film and a surprisingly flat performance by Ryan Gosling, there are stretches, particularly in the first half, where the film becomes pretentious and boring.
Cianfriance's style is hyper-realism. There's no sense of theatrics or drama with which the characters act or talk. Normally this would be refreshing, especially since many scripts in big budget endeavors are crap, and many "stars" of today are acting-challenged but photogenic models. But Cianfriance overdoes it. Realism may be good for real life, but the way it's done in this movie makes it impossible to feel for the characters a lot of the time because they are completely normal. And normal people don't exactly make compelling movie characters. Cianfriance loves dialogue, but unlike Quentin Tarantino, another dialogue lover, the characters often don't say anything of real interest or that concerns the story. I get that some scenes are needed to set up the characters and show them in relatively normal times, but the film is about a half hour too long (most of the film's first act could have been excised).
Also problematic is Ryan Gosling, which is shocking. From playing a Jewish neo-nazi in "The Believer" to a lead in a romantic comedy in "Crazy, Stupid, Love" Gosling has been known for his talent as well as his guts. But here, his character doesn't say much, and Cianfriance doesn't capture the nuances in Gosling's body language. As a result, Luke becomes an extremely boring individual. And due to Cianfriance's need to be "indie" with grainy camerawork and lots of dramatic pauses, the film's first act becomes insufferable.
Once Avery enters the picture, the film picks up. The story moves quicker and the characters are more interesting. Bradley Cooper, who has been moving away from comedies that jump started his career, has never been better. As a cop who tries to do the right thing, he's believable and sympathetic. While there have been cop movies where a good cop is trapped in a situation where they have to do some unsavory things, this conflict is played out in a fresh manner. Eva Mendes is also good, although due to the nature of the character or how she was directed, she exudes little screen presence (my guess is on the latter since she has proven before many times that she can command the camera's attention).
The film's strongest section is the final third. It stars Dane DeHaan, one of film's most exciting new actors, and Emory Cohen, whom I haven't seen before, as the children of Luke and Avery. While there is a "twist" in this act (which I won't reveal), it's not the focus of the story and frankly, it's obvious from fairly early on. This is where everything comes full circle, and the characters are forced to confront their responsibility in all that has taken place. This leads to great drama, and a fair amount of suspense. Both DeHaan and Cohen give strong performances, and everything is resolved in a fresh but honest way.
As strong as the final two thirds are, I can't recommend the film. The first third is so sluggish that it becomes painful, and the other two acts are overlong. This is a movie that's almost twice as long as it needs to be.
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ryan Gosling, Ray Liotta, Ben Mendehlson, Rose Byrne, Dane DeHaan, Emory Cohen, Bruce Greenwood, Mahershala Ali, Harris Yulin
Rated R for Language Throughout, Some Violence, Teen Drug and Alcohol Use, and a Sexual Reference
There's no denying that Derek Cianfriance's sophomore feature is ambitious and has potential. But while there are elements that are worthy of high praise, the film is too problematic for me to recommend.
Luke (Gosling) is a stunt motorcycle rider for a travelling circus. He wants to reconnect with an old flame, a pretty waitress named Romina (Mendes), but she's already in a relationship with Kofi (Ali). But Romina has given birth to Luke's son, of which she only just now has informed him. Luke wants to provide for his new baby, but a job is hard to come by. With the help of a mechanic named Robin (Mendelsohn), Luke takes up robbing banks. But then he has an interaction with a police officer named Avery (Cooper), which changes their lives forever. Avery is now known as a hero, although rising in the police force has its drawbacks as he is strong-armed into becoming corrupt. Fifteen years later, Luke's son Jason (DeHaan) and Avery's son AJ (Cohen) become friends, although because of their personalities and their fathers' relationship, this friendship is primed to explode.
"The Place Among The Pines" contrasts Luke and Avery, and how their actions influence the lives of their children. This kind of story is brimming with potential, but due to the way Cianfriance writes and directs the film and a surprisingly flat performance by Ryan Gosling, there are stretches, particularly in the first half, where the film becomes pretentious and boring.
Cianfriance's style is hyper-realism. There's no sense of theatrics or drama with which the characters act or talk. Normally this would be refreshing, especially since many scripts in big budget endeavors are crap, and many "stars" of today are acting-challenged but photogenic models. But Cianfriance overdoes it. Realism may be good for real life, but the way it's done in this movie makes it impossible to feel for the characters a lot of the time because they are completely normal. And normal people don't exactly make compelling movie characters. Cianfriance loves dialogue, but unlike Quentin Tarantino, another dialogue lover, the characters often don't say anything of real interest or that concerns the story. I get that some scenes are needed to set up the characters and show them in relatively normal times, but the film is about a half hour too long (most of the film's first act could have been excised).
Also problematic is Ryan Gosling, which is shocking. From playing a Jewish neo-nazi in "The Believer" to a lead in a romantic comedy in "Crazy, Stupid, Love" Gosling has been known for his talent as well as his guts. But here, his character doesn't say much, and Cianfriance doesn't capture the nuances in Gosling's body language. As a result, Luke becomes an extremely boring individual. And due to Cianfriance's need to be "indie" with grainy camerawork and lots of dramatic pauses, the film's first act becomes insufferable.
Once Avery enters the picture, the film picks up. The story moves quicker and the characters are more interesting. Bradley Cooper, who has been moving away from comedies that jump started his career, has never been better. As a cop who tries to do the right thing, he's believable and sympathetic. While there have been cop movies where a good cop is trapped in a situation where they have to do some unsavory things, this conflict is played out in a fresh manner. Eva Mendes is also good, although due to the nature of the character or how she was directed, she exudes little screen presence (my guess is on the latter since she has proven before many times that she can command the camera's attention).
The film's strongest section is the final third. It stars Dane DeHaan, one of film's most exciting new actors, and Emory Cohen, whom I haven't seen before, as the children of Luke and Avery. While there is a "twist" in this act (which I won't reveal), it's not the focus of the story and frankly, it's obvious from fairly early on. This is where everything comes full circle, and the characters are forced to confront their responsibility in all that has taken place. This leads to great drama, and a fair amount of suspense. Both DeHaan and Cohen give strong performances, and everything is resolved in a fresh but honest way.
As strong as the final two thirds are, I can't recommend the film. The first third is so sluggish that it becomes painful, and the other two acts are overlong. This is a movie that's almost twice as long as it needs to be.
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