Boy was I wrong. It was more of a triptych 3 act play that I could only attempt to describe by calling it an almost Shakespearean mosaic of paternal duty and consequence, trailing the generational echoes of why men try to do good things but end up doing bad things, and how their choices determine not only what sort of man they become but what kind of legacy they leave in their wake.
THE STORY
"The Place Beyond The Pines" is the Iriqouis translation of 'Schenectady', which is also the town in NY where the film takes place. The film begins with Luke (Ryan Gosling), one of the carnaval workers that rides a motorcycle inside of a spherical cage. He taunts death. Ladies in the theater will swoon. Romina (Eva Mendes) did and their encounter presents Luke with the catalyst that propels our story into action that puts Gosling on a fast paced motorcycle heist collision course with Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper).
THE ACTING
Everyone in this film is Stellar. Which is saying a lot for a film that boasts the presence of Ray Liotta, Rose Byrne, Chronicle's Dane DeHaan, and Treme's Mahershala Ali. Bradley Cooper is great. He plays his heroic good cop straight with the right amount of emotional gravity to pull you into his predicament. Ryan Gosling is the standout. His presence is so great, that I almost unanimously heard people wish he was on screen more than he was. Critics seem to have found the film to be unbalanced. If so, I would contend that it's mostly because Gosling and his partner in crime Robin (Ben Mendelsohn) are so enjoyable to watch on screen that when they step aside to let the story continue, their absence is too noticeable. Which brings me to a brief tangent about how you need to know who Ben Mendelsohn is. His performance here, along with his junkie in "Killing Them Softly" and his pompous british bad guy in "The Dark Knight Rises" have convinced me that he is one of the most talented Character actors of the now. I'm going to go out and see "Animal Kingdom" and I can't wait to see what he does in more films to come.
THE STYLE
The writer/director Derek Cianfrance is the same guy who teamed up with Gosling to create Blue Valentine. You can expect the same sense of realism here. The beautiful cinematography of Sean Bobbitt who also worked on "Shame" puts you right in the room so close to the actors that you can count the film grain. The shots of Gosling on his bike are as kinetic and wild as the character it can't quite catch in the frame. The one I love the most is Gosling riding down an empty road between the trees as Mike Patton's beautifully haunting piano melody gives you the sense of sadness and remorse that Cianfrance has woven into the film. Unlike 'Blue Valentine' the story here is linear. Only the focus is split among the Men in the film so that we learn more about the consequences of actions instead of the growth of an individual character. Critics like to use the word ambitious when they don't like a director moving out of the cinematic comfort zone. In this case I call Cianfrance's ambition brave and for my tastes worth the risk.
CONCLUSION
I can't get into too much detail without giving away key plot points, but what I can say is that the film is smart. A highlight for me was the matching shaky hand held photography of Gosling and Mendelsohn on bikes to show us how they recognized each other as kindred spirits.
Critics will say that the third act loses steam, but I found the 3 act structure necessary to show us who Luke really is. The Film opens on his torso covered in tattoos as he flips a butterfly knife. This is what the film is ultimately about. Who is this man? What drives him? What made him this way? The rest of the film tries to answer these questions. By the end we know exactly what creates a man like Luke and how alternative paternal role models can lead to a man like Avery without ever having made one flash back.
Cinefiles may get more out of it than the average movie goer looking to be entertained by two big movie stars going head to head. The Place Beyond the Pines is a far place beyond the civil normalcy of nationally-distributed-film narrative that teaches us the majesty of the wilderness that unburdened-by-box-office storytelling holds and consequently reminds us why most movie goers and critics will prefer to stay in the comforts of popcorn-movie civilization. While walking out of the theater, I heard a mixture of pleasure about the acting, displeasure about the 140min length, and confusion over the meaning. Most people will have the same reaction. If you're the type of person who likes going to a play or reading an ambitious novel, then you might enjoy the film as much as I did. Regardless, I think everyone would do well by seeing The Place Beyond The Pines because it is likely to be one of the better films that is going to be out in a year that includes Star Trek, Iron Man 3, The Great Gatsby, Man Of Steel, World War Z, Oblivion, To The Wonder, Elysium, Before Midnight, Trance, and Gravity.
-MM
No comments:
Post a Comment