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| Ryan Gosling |
Well-acted "Pines" a tediously ambitious affair
The new drama "The Place Beyond the Pines" is a well-acted yet overlong epic contemporary tale of family, grief and crime. Intriguing yet plodding and slow, it's about 30 minutes too long, not to mention the film's most fascinating character exits too early. Set in Schenectady, New York, the film follows Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling), a traveling motorcycle stuntman who arrives in town to find he has an infant son by an ex-lover named Romina (Eva Mendes). To help provide for his new family, he begins robbing banks, and he crosses paths with a local cop named AJ (Bradley Cooper), who has issues of his own. Tension builds over the years between the two families as they realize they'll forever be connected. "The Place Beyond the Pines" is an occasionally engrossing but tediously long, overly ambitious drama from director and writer Derek Cianfrance ("Blue Valentine"), who masterfully directs but could've tightened up some saggy places and/or unnecessary segments from the well-acted drama. The film is clearly defined in three acts that spans over many years; the first act, featuring Gosling, is the best as it lays the groundwork for the story, but it gets weaker as it goes on, with a particularly draggy middle act. Gosling is fine and intense as the drifter motorcyclist trying to provide for his character, but surprisingly it's a supporting character; he makes an unfortunate exit from the film early on in the film and with it goes its most captivating character. Cooper, fresh off his success in "Silver Linings Playbook," is also believable in a strong turn, but his character is the more bland of the two. Dane DeHaan ("Chronicle") is also memorable as Luke's grown son yet like Gosling, he's underused by Cianfrance. There are too many unnecessary, small characters, unfortunate since many talented actors such as Mendes, Rose Byrne, Bruce Greenwood and Ray Liotta, playing his usual slimeball cop role, are wasted in them; the section with Liotta in particular is largely unnecessary and does little to advance the film. Cianfrance is indeed a gifted director to watch in the future, but his "The Place Beyond the Pines" (the film's title comes from the meaning of Schenectady, which means 'place beyond the pines'), while superbly acted and often absorbing, is too long and tediously earnest.
Wes's Grade: C+
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