The Place Beyond The Pines (***1/2 out of ****)

Director Derek Cianfrance has done something special here. It feels like far to often times a director just looks to their next project as simply their next movie. Cianfrance gives the impression of a man who looks for nothing less than working his hardest to contributing to cinema. A film divided into three acts the story sweeps across the ages. This is a showcase for acting but treats the actors as part of the story and not work for their celebrity personas. The film is a true epic that does come off the rails every now and then, but for the most part it is a striking force of film.

Luke (Ryan Gosling) is a motorcylce stunt man at a traveling amusment park. He returns to Synecdoche New York after a year on the road and is greeted by Romina (Eva Mendes), a woman he had a fling with during his last visit. However he finds out that while away, she had his child. Luke wants to be there for his child, unlike his own father. However Romina has a boyfriend and starting a a new life. Luke has no skills outside of his riding abilities, which he decides to use for a life a crime. Rob a bank and use his talent to get out of the area as fast as possible. This sets him on a collison course with Avery (Bradley Cooper), a local cop. Avery has dreams of doing actual justice in town and Luke may be the catalyst to all of this. There is also two teenagers (Dane DeHaan and Emory Cohen) that will play a massive role on the story.

The film has a true scope of it's goals. Telling a story of father/son relationships and the effect they have on one's life. An attempt to look beyond the traditional looking glass in to the raw emotion that fuels people. There is a lot happening here, I'm sure there is a lot I missed (religious symbolism), so the film has a strong rewatch capability. There are several beautiful and meaningful shots namely two following from behind two different characters on bike via an aerial view. All the actors give it their all here, making it a roller-coaster of emotion  The Place Beyond The Pines tries hard to tell story of some magnitude and for the most part succeeds in its ambitious drive.


***1/2 out of ****