The Place Beyond The Pines

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, & Dane DeHaan

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Place Beyond The Pines is the kind of film that I love. The film is broken up into three stories, starring three different actors, and it all comes together at the end. The film is about two men, one is a criminal, the other is a cop, and both have a decision to make. One makes the right choice, the other makes the wrong one, and fifteen years later, both decisions have a huge impact on their children, who come together in High School. Each part features a different actor, Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, and Dane DeHann. While they were all terrific, it's Cooper who really stands out. I thought he was good in Limitless, but he blows that performance away, giving an Oscar worthy portrayal. Due to the violent nature of the film, of course the Academy overlooked him, but you will be hard pressed to find a better performance all year. He was magically and is the thread that connects the stories. Without Cooper being at his best, this film probably wouldn't have worked out as well as it did. There are so many supporting stars and the story becomes so much more complex than it appears to be. Watching The Place Beyond The Pines was really like seeing three different short plays, that are loosely tied together, but don't make much of an impact until you see the fourth and final act. Once you see the whole picture, you will be blown away, both by the magnitude of the story and an unexpected conclusion. The cast and previews for this film really didn't excite me that much, but the reviews were strong, I gave it a chance, and what I found was another must see movie.