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Review: The Place Beyond the Pines

It takes an actor with stealth, attraction, and candour to steal the limelight from Ryan Gosling, but Bradley Cooper has pulled it off. Much to the chagrin of the teenage girls surrounding me in the cinema, this film is no Drive. Here, Gosling forms the backdrop, not the centrepiece. 

A tale of fathers and sons, The Place Beyond the Pines traces the repercussions of a split-second face-off between two men: one a stunt biker turned bank robber, the other a rookie cop. Their actions echo through the years, shaping the lives of their children. Both characters – motorcyclist Luke Glanton (Gosling) and Officer Avery Cross (Cooper) – have one-year old sons, Jason and AJ. Fifteen years down the line, Jason (Dane DeHaan) has become a ‘loner stoner’ and AJ, played irritatingly by Emory Cohen, resembles a spoilt Jersey Shore character. 

Director Derek Cianfrance structures the story in a triptych, with the final chapter amplifying the consequences of violence. This follow-up to Blue Valentine is extremely visceral: the camera work is unobtrusive, and the dialogue straight. This is fortunate, as it’s the performances that keep the film from buckling under its scope. Gosling’s flashy character is perfectly matched by Cooper, who gives a compelling performance as a cop with an unbending sense of justice. The supporting roles are just as impressive: Ben Mendelson is perfect as Luke’s amusing confidante and Dane DeHaan’s performance only leaves one wanting more. 

Although its narrative is plagued with bittiness, The Place Beyond the Pines has a sense of grandeur that should be admired. Not only does it tie together themes of fatherhood and masculinity, but it also showcases problems of inheritance and class that dominate the lives of two families in small-town America. It’s an ambitious script and one that ultimately produces a powerful film about legacy.  

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