Looking to break free from your place in the world and make a fresh start in life? Well, if filmmaker Derek Cianfrance (“Blue Valentine”) has anything to say about it, environment and biology are going to make it nearly impossible. “The Place Beyond the Pines” is as ambitious a film as has been released recently, filled with numerous characters from different social backgrounds spanning over seventeen years. As a result, certain sections of the film are tense and exciting, while other portions of the film feel slower and unfocused. Regardless, it’s an interesting journey.
The epic story is set over decades and told in three parts, at first following a hot-tempered, traveling circus stunt motorcyclist named Luke (Ryan Gosling). When Luke is told that he is the father of a baby boy from a woman (Eva Mendes) he had fling with a year previous, he decides to be a part of the child’s life… by any means necessary, including robbery. Avery (Bradley Cooper) is a cop and new father on the trail of Luke, whose split second decision on the job leads him down a path with crooked police force members. In fact, bad decisions are made by many of the characters; the consequences of such choices continue to affect the lives of their children introduced in the film’s final third.
As expected, the performances are excellent. Both male leads have to believably behave in morally questionable and at times horrendous ways while still maintaining audience empathy – they do so with ease. Among the rest of the terrific cast, Ray Liotta is absolutely terrifying as a nasty detective whose mere presence oozes tension and threat in every scene. Technically, it’s beautiful, opening with an impressive and lengthy shot that follows a character for minutes on end. And the story takes some unusual twists that viewers will not see coming.
There are a few problems, however. With a story as large in scope as this one is, it can be a bit of a strain on pacing to introduce new characters every forty-five minutes. It’s a long movie, and when a film needs ten minutes to set up more new people after ninety minutes, it feels even longer. In the first segment, the score is too bombastic (while one understands it is meant to depict the volatile state of mind of a character, at times it’s distractingly over-the-top). And the final third is the least dynamic segment. The drama facing the offspring of the protagonists isn’t as volatile or dramatic as in the first two segments, resulting in a thoughtful but overly subdued close.
Still, the film makes some interesting points, including how difficult it is to break out of one’s social caste and how with the right status and connections some can breeze through their troubles without serious repercussions. Of course, none of this is spelled out explicitly, and one can come up with many more interpretations of the material.
“The Place Beyond the Pines” is not a film for everyone. Its appeal will be limited, but it does linger in the brain long after the credits have rolled. Even if it isn’t perfect, one has to respect a filmmaker for taking on a grandiose, yet introspective and interpretive project that doesn’t spoon-feed viewers.