The Place Beyond the Pines Review
Reviewed by James Cheetham
written for www.theplayground.com
The Place Beyond the
Pines opens with Ryan Gosling’s stuntman Luke in the heart of a carnival
sauntering towards his motorbike amongst the swirling fairground rides. He mounts
his bike and performs an almost impossible looking stunt zooming across the
metal walls of a ball with two other bikers zipping over his head, all this
shot in one take.
It’s a mesmerizing opening sequence, instantly likening Luke
to a modern day mythical figure, much like Nicolas Winding Refn achieved with
Gosling in Drive. It also quickly sets
the tone for the first act with its sense of mysterious quiet and the focus on
character and performance. It starts out much like Cianfrance’s first feature (Blue Valentine) in this aspect, but then
quickly and surprisingly takes another form as it works with stronger pacing
and plot construction.
Essentially playing out as a crime drama, it starts with
Gosling’s wounded anti-hero deciding to turn his back on his stuntman traveling
circus life and remain in town having just discovered he has a baby son through
his previous fling, Romina, played by Eva Mendes. Wanting to support his son,
he turns to robbing banks which quickly escalates things from slow moving
romance to furious action. It’s fast paced and entertaining in these moments, carried
through by the entrancing and thrilling direction, cinematography and stellar
performances of Gosling and Mendes. It
makes for a nice blend; haunting sequences of a man weaving through woodlands
to brisk and violent scenes of robberies and quick getaways.
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