“The Place Beyond the Pines” is the last film from actor Ryan Gosling (“Gangster Squad”) for the foreseeable future. Having earned recognition throughout the years with impeccable acting skills in a variety of roles, Gosling recently announced it is time he takes a break from acting. Despite an emotional plot, “The Place Beyond the Pines” does not live up to the high standard one would expect Gosling to exit with.
This film takes places in Schenectady, N.Y. and tells the story of professional traveling biker Luke Glanton, played by Gosling, who reconnects with his ex-girlfriend Romina (Eva Mendez, “Holy Motors”) and discovers that he has a son. Wanting to provide for his boy and be a part of his life, Glanton turns to bank robberies as a way to get cash. Unfortunately, police officer Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”) is hot on his trail and eventually catches up. Cross is dubbed a hero, but lives the rest of his life thinking about the moment he caught Glanton. The film does a great job of portraying the lasting consequences one’s choices may have.
However, the film has some noticeable problems. It is very long, clocking in at 145 minutes, although it feels like 145 hours.
The cinematography was horrible. At one point in the movie, Glanton is riding loudly and recklessly through the woods on his motorbike, dodging trees and whatnot, and the camera shakes so much that it barely captures anything. It’s more than enough to make a viewer dizzy. In other scenes, the cinematographer gets really close to the actors’ faces, but only to part of their faces. While it seems the intent was to capture a specific emotion with a small close frame, the emotions are not conveyed clearly or sensibly. For example, in one of the countless segments where Glanton lights up a cigarette, the camera zooms in very closely, right up to his eyes, forehead and part of his ear. Instead of dramatizing the mood, this shot ends up looking awkward.
Just when you have hope for the music to make things a little brighter, you’re wrong. The movie is solemn and sad, and therefore calls for tunes to fit that mood. Most of the time, whether one scene is transitioning into another, or if an intense happy or sad reaction was sought for from the audience, a series of random chord and note progressions in different keys would start up for a brief time and then fade away. It was not until the ending scene that led into the credits that a melodious tune played.
But the music and the cinematography were not the main point of the movie. “The Place Beyond the Pines” is a film that gains sympathy and allegiance from the audience for the law-breaking criminal and makes them both resentful and understanding of the law-enforcing police officer. Cross is supposed to be an adored hero, but isn’t as amazing of a person the public thinks he is.
This film is directed at anybody who is patient enough to enjoy a nice long movie with an overall sad storyline. If you are someone looking for an exciting activity to do on the weekend, this movie is not recommended. However, it is a decent compelling film with an interesting, sad story to be told that some viewers might enjoy.
3 out of 5 stars.
