As the title may subtly allude to, there is nothing conventional about this week’s subject of my diatribe.
The Place Beyond The Pines cannot be said to ‘star’ anyone; Ryan Gosling certainly features strongly, as do Eva Mendes, Noah Taylor and The Hangover’s Bradley Cooper, but to say they were the leads, the stars, would be to contradict the film’s construction.
Allow me to enlighten you a little: The film opens on the back of a muchly tattooed Ryan Gosling, who proceeds to walk his way through the gaudy chaos of a fairground, mount a motorbike and enter the Cage of Death (that big ball-cage-thing you see the mentally deranged riding circles around at high speed). As a performer, the rougher than 20-grit  Gosling travels the country, gets drunk and impregnates the local townsfolk. We have been introduced to him as he reconnects with one such victim of his loins, Eva Mendes.
Gosling discovers he has a son by Mendes and, to his credit, attempts reconciliation, quits his job and begins a steady career as a bank robber to support his family. Suffice it to say, through assaults, arrests and grotesque errs of judgement, all does not go according to plan.
And so endeth the first lesson…
Through a connection that would ruin the surprise if divulged, the story then enters the life of Bradley Cooper, a good cop in bad times, lamed and caught in the middle of a feud between his conscience and his colleagues.
…and on to part three…but we’ll depart from the recollection there.
This is how the film unfolds, taking up with first one and then another character, not seeming to follow any particular consistency, meandering in and out of lives, building a hero of one character, only to metaphorically destroy them in the wake of another figure.
There is no happy ending, the guy doesn’t get the girl and the good guys don’t always win – hell, the good guys aren’t even the good guys half the time!
Visually, The Place Beyond The Pines is delicious. Director Derek Cianfrance has drawn influence from the films of the ’60s; rich, saturated colour, close-ups and drawn-out cross fades, allowing silence to speak volumes. Old, worn-out videos of Bullitt, The Thomas Crown Affair and Easy Rider must adorn Cianfrance’s living room shelves, The Place Beyond The Pines unashamedly borrowing from these and other such classics.
But it isn’t plagiaristic in its rendition. Rather, it takes distinct elements as inspiration, applying them to modern film and marrying them with a screenplay perfectly complimented to this genre.
Wow, I really do sound like a clichéed, egocentric film buff – it’s amazing that I could even see the film with my head so fervently embedded where the sun don’t shine!
So after that unabashedly self-indulgent diatribe, here’s the long and the short of it:
The Place Beyond The Pines isn’t for everyone. Despite action and a storyline rich in emotion, it is, by its very nature, disjointed – it simply wouldn’t be the same film if it wasn’t. It throws its copy of Successful Filmmaking 101 out the window and leads its own way to the grande finale, potentially making it arduous for some viewers.
But if you can hold space and just a little patience for this film, do so and be rewarded. It oozes emotion, pours visuals onto your lap, you can smell Gosling’s continuous clouds of cigarette smoke and Mendes’ cheap, trailer-trash perfume, you are made to love and hate each character almost simultaneously and feel as if you have journeyed through this life with them.
And I think that is where this film is successful: despite there being unconventional events, such as car chases, bank robberies and shoot-outs, The Place Beyond The Pines is wonderfully real. Its disconnected story reflects our own lives, not following a simple, flowing path, but succumbing to pitfalls and curve-balls at every step.
It isn’t easy-watching brain-fodder – we did that with Iron Man 3 – but I’d happily buy your ticket and popcorn and come see it again with you. Take a deep breath, dive on in and enjoy.
RATING:
Review by: Tommy Leitch – www.subcutanea.net / www.facebook.com/wordsbysubcutanea | courtesy of Palace Cinemas. Byron Bay