The Place Beyond the Pines: An Intimate Epic

Trailers for The Place Beyond the Pines didn't give much away, and I had no idea what to expect from this movie. I suspected it would be a languid character study in the vein of Blue Valentine, writer-director Derek Cianfrance's last movie, but instead, it's something more.

The movie begins as the story of Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling), an itinerant stuntman who rides his motorcycle in the Cage of Death at various state fairs. When he is in New York, he reconnects with an ex-lover Romina (Eva Mendes), and is shocked to learn that he is the father of her son. He decides to stay in town and provide for his child instead of being an absentee parent like his own father. Romina is in a relationship with someone else and is not keen on this idea, but Luke persists. He starts working for an auto repair shop owner, Robin (Ben Mendelsohn), but he's frustrated with the low pay. At this point, Robin reveals that he used to be a bank robber. He thinks Luke has the necessary skill set to rob a bank and make a quick getaway on his bike, so they partner up and successfully conduct a crime spree. However, Luke and Robin have a falling out and Luke decides to rob a bank himself. Things go wrong and he is pursued by a police officer. That officer is a new cop, Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper), and it is at this point that the movie really gets going.

I won't offer up more details because this is a movie that unfolds slowly but relentlessly. There are some shocking twists that propel the narrative forward, including a time jump that makes this an engaging multi-generational story. You can predict some elements of the story but it is never clear how things might end, and you become increasingly invested in the lives of the families who are suffering from the choices of their sons and fathers. 

The Place Beyond the Pines offers up fantastic performances from Gosling, Mendes, and Cooper, and a plot with emotional twists and turns that keep you guessing. It takes some time to get going and requires an initial investment from the viewer, but that investment pays off handsomely in the end.