The Place Beyond the Pines

Every once in a while, a movie comes along that I just cant stop thinking about. It may not be the best movie ever made and it still might have significant flaws...but I just cant stop thinking about what it has to say about life. 

The Place Beyond the Pines is that type of movie. 

It does so much right, but also some things wrong and at the end of the day I just cant escape what it had to say about life coming full circle, fathers and their sons, the consequences for doing both the right and wrong thing, and the idea that we are products of our upbringing.

The film is an epic, plain and simple. It is here to tell a Shakespearean story and it does so with no remorse. It sounds cliched to talk about movies this way sometimes, but The Place Beyond the Pines is just so calculated and brooding. Every scene serves a higher purpose and you start to get that sense as the movie transitions from its first chapter to its second. 

Chapter 1: Ryan Gosling as the obnoxiously-tattooed, Luke

The Place Beyond the Pines is split up into three very distinct chapters. In fact, they are so distinct that Im surprised there weren't title screens indicating the shift from one to the next. With these chapter changes come some significant tonal shifts and this is the film's biggest offense. Just as we are getting into the characters and story of one character, we shift to the next one, and then to the next one. Looking back, this is really the only way that this story could have been told, but it's still jarring nonetheless. 

That baby has a very stoic look on his face. Kinda
creepy actually.

Ryan Gosling is the star of Chapter 1. He is a talented dirtbike rider with ridiculous tattoos everywhere. He quickly finds out that he has a son and wants to find ways to support him. Eventually he is so hard pressed that he begins to rob banks. As we have come to expect from Gosling, he is phenomenal. He is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood right now because he is one of the best, plain and simple. Somewhat similar to Drive, his range of emotion in this movie is wide: caring, happy, intense, angry. He does it all and he makes it immensely believable. As his voice cracks when he robs banks we get the sense that he is actually robbing these banks; he disappears into the moment and it's exciting to watch. There are a few chase sequences in this chapter and while the shaky cam makes a return, I dare say it works here for the most part. The chases are exhilarating and they seem very real. Cianfrance, the director of the film, certainly has a talent behind the camera. Also playing a significant role in this chapter is Eva Mendes as Romina, the mother of Luke's child. For some reason I kind of never attached to her character as much, but that is no fault of her own. She does great work here I just think that she was the female lead in a male-dominated film that is mostly about fathers and sons. 

Ryan Gosling + his biceps + him holding a baby =
my female readers all deciding that they are going
to see this movie ASAP.

Without spoiling anything, the story transitions into Chapter 2 that focuses on the cop-trying-to-do-the-right-thing, Avery Cross who is played equally as brilliantly by Bradley Cooper. Once again, there is a reason he is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood right now and it's because he is talented. He also has a one year old son, but his life is much more stable. He is married and has a steady job. This child's upbringing is much different than Luke's child. As the movie continues through the chapter we start to see parallels between the chapters...choices, consequences, devotion or a lack of devotion for family. It's all very poetic actually and Cianfrance adds to it by adding his own parallels such as long shots of the back of Avery walking, much like he did with Luke at the very beginning of the movie. It becomes clear that these are two very different men, but yet they are still facing the same issues and trials in life. That being said, Bradley Cooper's chapter is much less interesting (a tale about cop corruption) and if I take a step back and look at the plot as a whole, his chapter's plot is less important. The two chapters get equal screen time but the second is not deserving of it; it could have been told in probably 3/4ths to 1/2 the amount of time. 

He walks like this the whole movie. His character
suffers from a very large kink in his back.
(Kidding)

The final transition occurs 15 years after the first two and tells the story of the two sons. This chapter is easily the most powerful and I was really impressed with the choices made. Rather than being predictable and cliched and having them turn out as polar opposites, they actually end up to very similar to each other on the surface despite their vastly different upbringings (don't worry, this isn't really a spoiler just more of an observation). By the time the movie reaches its final shot we come to realize that these boys were not just a result of their father's mistakes or just their upbringing, but a combination of both. As I mentioned at the beginning, the movie comes full circle and it's really tragic. Not in the sense that it is sad, but just the fact that it is so heavy. And it's these aspects of the movie that I just cannot stop thinking about. Are we really just products of our fathers? Do we live with their mistakes and their successes? Can we break the mold if we wanted to? How does one become the man he wants to be despite his upbringing? Like I said, heavy stuff. 

For all that it has to say though, Chapter 3 is also too long and I can think of two areas where I would have ended it and I think it would have been equally as effective if not more so than the actual ending. To me, the actual ending, while still very good, seemed a bit extreme and somewhat unnecessary. 

A very powerful scene...one of those full-circle moments.

From a technical standpoint, the movie as a whole is brilliant. I was hard pressed to find poor cinematography, the script was excellent, and the performances were all top-notch. Not to mention we are graced with one of the best original scores I have heard in a while. It's one of those scores that sends chills down my spine and brings the start of tears to my eyes just because of how expertly it is crafted and used within the film. In all honesty, The Place Beyond the Pines is one of those movies that is an entirely different beast because of its score. It would have had significantly less impact without it. 

As I wrap up this review, I am still trying to understand the title of the movie, The Place Beyond the Pines. There are several important scenes that take place within the pines, but what does the title mean beyond the pines? What is the deeper meaning? 

To me, I took it as a metaphor for the effect that we will someday have on our children. Our actions and decisions have long term effects that are beyond our control, beyond our own upbringings and these not only define who we are, but who our children will be as well. And it is our duty to make sure that our children evolve to the place beyond the pines. 

Pros:

• An epic story that is split up into three mostly-fantastic chapters. The movie has a lot to say and it does so with a ton of calculated maneuvers
• It's a movie that I would hope you don't soon forget once you leave the theater. I know it's kept me thinking. It's made me appreciative of my father and my upbringing. I've gained a new sympathy for children who have not had the upbringing and father that I have had and ended up in less than desirable places because of it
• All across the board, the acting is amazing. Not one bad performance
• Technically near-flawless. The cinematography is amazing, particularly the chase scenes
• The original score and soundtrack are the best I have heard in a while. Elevates the movie from good to great

Cons:

• The tonal shifts from chapter to chapter are mild but noticeable 
• It is overly long. And in all honesty, this is really my biggest complaint. Chapter 2 could have been cut in half easily and Chapter 3 had several opportunities where it could have ended earlier and had the same effect. The movie clocks in at 2 hours and 20 minutes, but feels much longer. This is largely due to the chapter changes and it isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's slightly frustrating when you realize how much fat around the meat there is in some areas of the film. We probably would have been looking at a 9.5/10 or a 10/10 score had the movie been about a half hour shorter

Rath's Review Score: 9/10