Crime-thrillers often make for fascinating
movies; more so, when the screenplay of the film is spruced with innocuous mind
games and dichotomous characters. ‘The Place Beyond The Pines’, starring
Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes, is an intriguing three-part film
which revolves around how decisions made by a stunt motorcyclist and a dutiful police
officer, affect the lives of their families. It is directed by Derek Cianfrance
of ‘Blue Valentine’ fame.
Its wonderful story and screenplay, backed
with awesome performances, make ‘The Place Beyond The Pines’ one of the better
crime-thrillers to have come out in recent times. The multi-layered characters
(and by layered, I mean sometimes greedy and sometimes selfless, sometimes
bound by duty and sometimes by fate, sometimes white and mostly black),
performed by the cast with much aplomb, make the film very real and relatable.
An absolutely brilliant story about relationships, revenge and forgiveness, ‘The
Place Beyond The Pines’ is ‘edge-of-the-seat’ stuff. Clocking in at 2 hours 20
minutes, the film doesn’t seem long at all.
A stunt motorcyclist, Luke
Glanton (Ryan Gosling), is trying very hard to reconnect with his former
girlfriend and the mother of his new-born child, Romina (Eva Mendes). In order
to provide for her and his child Jason, Luke quits motorcycle racing and starts
robbing banks. Being a rider, Luke lives life on the edge and is absolutely
unapologetic about his actions.
Police officer Avery Cross
(Bradley Cooper) is looking for growth at his workplace, but is pulled back by
the rampant corruption in the department.
Two boys, studying in high
school, Jason (Luke’s son) and AJ Cross (Avery’s son), fall into trouble with
drugs, which leads to a lot of drama and some bloodshed.
The film is about how the
lives of the aforementioned characters entwine. The film tackles relationships
very well. Be it Luke’s and Romina’s romantic liaison, Avery’s turbulent
relationship with his wife and son, Jason’s equation with AJ Cross, and Avery’s
fabulous camaraderie with his father, the highs and lows of any normal relationship
have been encapsulated brilliantly by the writers.
It even deals with the dichotomy
that most of us often find ourselves in – ‘whose side to take?’. It’s true that
if you stand for something right/wrong, you have to bear the consequences
eventually. The characters are etched in such a meticulous manner, that you may
find yourself sympathizing with the criminal at some points and cursing the
righteous individual at others.
On the technical front, the
film excels purely on its writing (Derek Cianfrance, Ben Coccio and Darius
Marder). The score, composed by Mike Patton, is eerily delightful. In addition,
the camerawork (Sean Bobbitt) wonderfully compliments the dark, gritty theme of
the film. As a viewer, I connected with this film on several grounds –
forgiveness, righteousness, ambition and compassion. The story is bound to
strike a chord with you at some level or the other.
The film, just like its
title, is open to several interpretations. It stays with you for a long time
after you’ve watched it.
Shivom Oza
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