ameesha-green
Joined Oct 2013
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Reviews18
ameesha-green's rating
It surprises me that "The Place Beyond the Pines" isn't more popular as it has the same kind of epic feeling as "The Departed", only if they'd had kids. It also has a dark, moody quality to it; the kind where you really feel the characters' pain. The cinematography and music create a really evocative "mood".
The film is split into three clear acts, and it follows four main characters. One of them is touring funfair motorbike rider Luke, played by Ryan Gosling, who discovers he has a baby at the start of the film. Another is good-guy-but-troubled cop Avery, played by Bradley Cooper, who has a son of the same age. Later, we meet their sons.
Technically, there isn't a huge amount of "plot" or action going on, and yet it always feels like something is happening as there's a huge amount of tension and a sense of things unravelling. You get the sense that some of the characters are trying to make the best of bad circumstances, while others manipulate the circumstances to get what they want.
The film plays with the notions of good vs. Bad, cop vs. Villain, rich vs. Poor, powerful vs. Powerless, and other dichotomies. The outcome is that you can't guess what is going to happen next and there are some truly shocking moments. I first saw this film at the cinema and when one of these moments occurred, there was an audible gasp across the cinema as nobody had seen it coming.
So, why did I give it a 9 and not a 10, you might wonder? Well, I am a big fan of this film, but the finale is a little too fast for me. I wanted five more minutes of wrapping up as Romina and AJ's threads feel hastily dealt with. But other than that, a stellar film.
The film is split into three clear acts, and it follows four main characters. One of them is touring funfair motorbike rider Luke, played by Ryan Gosling, who discovers he has a baby at the start of the film. Another is good-guy-but-troubled cop Avery, played by Bradley Cooper, who has a son of the same age. Later, we meet their sons.
Technically, there isn't a huge amount of "plot" or action going on, and yet it always feels like something is happening as there's a huge amount of tension and a sense of things unravelling. You get the sense that some of the characters are trying to make the best of bad circumstances, while others manipulate the circumstances to get what they want.
The film plays with the notions of good vs. Bad, cop vs. Villain, rich vs. Poor, powerful vs. Powerless, and other dichotomies. The outcome is that you can't guess what is going to happen next and there are some truly shocking moments. I first saw this film at the cinema and when one of these moments occurred, there was an audible gasp across the cinema as nobody had seen it coming.
So, why did I give it a 9 and not a 10, you might wonder? Well, I am a big fan of this film, but the finale is a little too fast for me. I wanted five more minutes of wrapping up as Romina and AJ's threads feel hastily dealt with. But other than that, a stellar film.
The true story behind this film is pretty interesting so I don't know how they managed to make the film such a snoozefest. The main issue is the constant narration, which is completely flat and sounds like someone reading a script for the first time ever. Having not seen Jessica Chastain in anything else, I couldn't fathom whether she is a really wooden actor or whether it was a poor director decision to include the one-tone narration. Either way, it made a true story feel unbelievable because the viewer doesn't get the chance to just be immersed in the story without having it narrated to them. Aside from that, it's very slow. It's also quite difficult to have any sympathy for her character as there's very little that is redeemable about her.
