In The Place Beyond the Pines - a roaring drama that combines the gritty intimacy of a B-movie noir and the outsized ambition of a multi generational Hollywood saga - Ryan Gosling's motorcycle stunt rider is covered in tattoos: an owl, a Bible, a boxer, a spiderweb, a hand grenade, a dagger dripping blood.
That last one is on Luke's face. With his shock of peroxide blond hair and his souped-up motocross machine, the guy doesn't exactly blend into the scenery. But when the carnival Luke travels with pitches its tents - and its "Globe of Death" motorbike show - for its annual stint in Schenectady, N.Y., blending into the scenery becomes his new mission. He discovers he's the father of a baby boy, sired a year earlier when he was in town and struck up a relationship with a waitress, Romina (a riveting Eva Mendes).
"Who's that guy?" he asks, gesturing to the infant in her arms "He's yours." And so, the whole axis of Luke's world starts spinning in unfamiliar ways. But in director Derek Cianfrance's daringly constructed and compelling film, taking on the responsibilities of fatherhood is something Luke's not sure how to do. To be a provider, he reckons, means having money. And having money means robbing banks.
n no time at all, he's partnered with a mechanic (the ace Aussie Ben Mendelsohn) experienced in the art of armed robbery. Next thing you know, there's a guy in a ski mask waving weaponry at scared-silly tellers, screaming at them to fill up his backpack. His getaway bike is right by the door.
Gosling, paired opposite Michelle Williams in Cianfrance's moody Blue Valentine, is electric here, and the bank heist scenes are crazy-nervous and thrilling. Especially the one when a Schenectady cop, Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper), takes after him, a high-speed chase that zooms along streets, down alleyways, across a cemetery The bank robber and the cop end up in a house together, at which point The Place Beyond the Pines turns into Avery's story, with Cooper demonstrating (if Silver Linings Playbook left any doubt) that he's a serious actor - a seriously talented, instinctive, risk-taking actor.
Smart, ambitious, with much to prove to himself and his family, Avery wrestles with the consequences of his fateful encounter with Luke. The character's evolution is fascinating. (Harris Yulin, as Avery's father, a judge, is terrific, and Ray Liotta, as one of Avery's brethren on the force, is, well . . . when you've got Liotta in your picture, you know there's going to be some really nasty business.) The Place Beyond the Pines is a triptych - the Luke chapter, the Avery chapter, and a final section that transpires 15 years later. Two young actors, Emory Cohen and Dane DeHaan, are the leads here. I confess that at first I wished Cianfrance had just let things end with Avery. But as this last act unfolds, and the dynamic between the two kids - they're in high school together - develops, everything falls into place. Into the place beyond the pines, in fact.
That last one is on Luke's face. With his shock of peroxide blond hair and his souped-up motocross machine, the guy doesn't exactly blend into the scenery. But when the carnival Luke travels with pitches its tents - and its "Globe of Death" motorbike show - for its annual stint in Schenectady, N.Y., blending into the scenery becomes his new mission. He discovers he's the father of a baby boy, sired a year earlier when he was in town and struck up a relationship with a waitress, Romina (a riveting Eva Mendes).
"Who's that guy?" he asks, gesturing to the infant in her arms "He's yours." And so, the whole axis of Luke's world starts spinning in unfamiliar ways. But in director Derek Cianfrance's daringly constructed and compelling film, taking on the responsibilities of fatherhood is something Luke's not sure how to do. To be a provider, he reckons, means having money. And having money means robbing banks.
n no time at all, he's partnered with a mechanic (the ace Aussie Ben Mendelsohn) experienced in the art of armed robbery. Next thing you know, there's a guy in a ski mask waving weaponry at scared-silly tellers, screaming at them to fill up his backpack. His getaway bike is right by the door.
Gosling, paired opposite Michelle Williams in Cianfrance's moody Blue Valentine, is electric here, and the bank heist scenes are crazy-nervous and thrilling. Especially the one when a Schenectady cop, Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper), takes after him, a high-speed chase that zooms along streets, down alleyways, across a cemetery The bank robber and the cop end up in a house together, at which point The Place Beyond the Pines turns into Avery's story, with Cooper demonstrating (if Silver Linings Playbook left any doubt) that he's a serious actor - a seriously talented, instinctive, risk-taking actor.
Smart, ambitious, with much to prove to himself and his family, Avery wrestles with the consequences of his fateful encounter with Luke. The character's evolution is fascinating. (Harris Yulin, as Avery's father, a judge, is terrific, and Ray Liotta, as one of Avery's brethren on the force, is, well . . . when you've got Liotta in your picture, you know there's going to be some really nasty business.) The Place Beyond the Pines is a triptych - the Luke chapter, the Avery chapter, and a final section that transpires 15 years later. Two young actors, Emory Cohen and Dane DeHaan, are the leads here. I confess that at first I wished Cianfrance had just let things end with Avery. But as this last act unfolds, and the dynamic between the two kids - they're in high school together - develops, everything falls into place. Into the place beyond the pines, in fact.