MOVIE OF THE WEEK #3 (4/12/13) THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, Bradley Cooper, Ray Liotta, Ben Mendelson, Emory Cohen, Dane DeHaan, Mahershala Ali, Rose Byrne, Bruce Greenwood, Robert Clohessy, Harris Yulin and Gabe Fazio
WRITER(S): Derek Cianfrance
DIRECTOR: Derek Cianfrance
THE PLOT: A drama set in modern upstate New York - if you can spell the city off the top of your head ... good for you - The Place Beyond the Pines stars Ryan Gosling as Luke Glanton. A heavily tattooed motorcycle stunt racer by trade, Luke (who rides with his crew "The Heartthrobs") is a member of a traveling circus that stops by town every year.
But when Romina (Eva Mendes) shows up to see him one last time a year after his last visit, Luke has a feeling something's up. And it is: Luke is now the father of a baby boy named Jason - and he, much to the chagrin of Romina's new beau Kofi (Mahershala Ali) - is determined to provide for his child. Even if it means hooking up with a mechanic named Robin (Ben Mendelson) and becoming fully engrossed in the world of bank robbery.
Meanwhile, Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper) is an upstart rookie cop trying to do right by the family name and judge father Al (Harris Yulin). Avery's wife Jennifer (Rose Byrne), however, isn't so enthusiastic about his career choice. And as fate would have it, Luke and Avery's paths cross at one fateful moment following a bank job ...
What happens next will forever change the lives of not only Luke, Avery, Romina, Jennifer and Al, but also A.J. (Emory Cohen) and Jason (Dane DeHaan), the young sons of our protagonists, as well ...
But when Romina (Eva Mendes) shows up to see him one last time a year after his last visit, Luke has a feeling something's up. And it is: Luke is now the father of a baby boy named Jason - and he, much to the chagrin of Romina's new beau Kofi (Mahershala Ali) - is determined to provide for his child. Even if it means hooking up with a mechanic named Robin (Ben Mendelson) and becoming fully engrossed in the world of bank robbery.
Meanwhile, Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper) is an upstart rookie cop trying to do right by the family name and judge father Al (Harris Yulin). Avery's wife Jennifer (Rose Byrne), however, isn't so enthusiastic about his career choice. And as fate would have it, Luke and Avery's paths cross at one fateful moment following a bank job ...
What happens next will forever change the lives of not only Luke, Avery, Romina, Jennifer and Al, but also A.J. (Emory Cohen) and Jason (Dane DeHaan), the young sons of our protagonists, as well ...
THE TAKE: A perplexing experience to say the least, The Place Beyond the Pines is one of those 'yeah, but ...' films. For it is very well shot, very well acted and has some very intriguing moments ... But at the same time, the ending and what you take away from it is likely to leave you with a bit of a 'hmmm' look across your face. Without giving too much away, it seems that in his attempt to tell a story about a unique bond between a father and a son, Cianfrance instead ends up with a film that makes you think about the exact opposite outcome. For while Gosling's character tries to do good by his son (played with great modern angst by DeHaan as a teenager), the character's inner conflict makes you realizes he going to have trouble with it (to put it mildly) long before he seems to. Likewise, whereas Cooper's character seems a bit more fully developed, you never get a true sense of what his motivations are, especially when he seems to flip-flop on his life goals midway through his story.
Continuing that theme, Emory Cohen does an equally great job - much to the surprise of a fellow audience member who I heard asking her boyfriend 'Why was he talking like that?!' - capturing the Eminem-as-his-Slim-Shady-alter-ego, "YOLO" mentality of Avery's son A.J. in his teenage years. Not appreciating his privileged life, the character would have been much more intriguing as a whole in a different scenario, but alas, that is not the case here. Instead, you essentially get a rebel-without-a-cause who (eventually? your guess is as good as mine) comes to realize the love his father has for him ... Even when his father doesn't seem to have the time for him both characters realize he should. Was that confusing to read? Well, imagine trying to take away any significant feeling from watching that play out on screen and you'll understand what makes Pines a film with individual parts greater than its sum.
Of course, the most confusing aspect of it all may just be DeHaan's character's motivations for trying to get to know his father the way he does so desperately. Going from curiosity to anger is one thing; the extreme to which DeHaan's character plays out is another. Then again, Ben Mendelson's character's laissez faire attitude about crime doesn't help things much. All Mendes gets to do in the film is essentially be a victim while Ali gets lost in the shuffle as the unappreciated stepdad who must love Mendes' character given all the abuse he takes.
Continuing that theme, Emory Cohen does an equally great job - much to the surprise of a fellow audience member who I heard asking her boyfriend 'Why was he talking like that?!' - capturing the Eminem-as-his-Slim-Shady-alter-ego, "YOLO" mentality of Avery's son A.J. in his teenage years. Not appreciating his privileged life, the character would have been much more intriguing as a whole in a different scenario, but alas, that is not the case here. Instead, you essentially get a rebel-without-a-cause who (eventually? your guess is as good as mine) comes to realize the love his father has for him ... Even when his father doesn't seem to have the time for him both characters realize he should. Was that confusing to read? Well, imagine trying to take away any significant feeling from watching that play out on screen and you'll understand what makes Pines a film with individual parts greater than its sum.
Of course, the most confusing aspect of it all may just be DeHaan's character's motivations for trying to get to know his father the way he does so desperately. Going from curiosity to anger is one thing; the extreme to which DeHaan's character plays out is another. Then again, Ben Mendelson's character's laissez faire attitude about crime doesn't help things much. All Mendes gets to do in the film is essentially be a victim while Ali gets lost in the shuffle as the unappreciated stepdad who must love Mendes' character given all the abuse he takes.
PARTING SHOT: A film that wants to explore the bonds between fathers and sons but ultimately wanders off course, The Place Beyond the Pines falls short of reaching its desired destination of being a drama as compelling as originally intended.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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