The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)
2h 20min, dir. Derek Cianfrance.
A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.
This is... less than accurate, I think.
The blurb is all about Luke Glanton, motorcycle stunt rider (Ryan Gosling), who makes what can be best described as a series of bad but 'sounded good at the time' decisions. Proportionally, though, it's more about Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper), the police officer who kills him.
It goes all over the place, really. The first strand of the story is about the family Glanton discovers, which he never really gets back into, but which serves as the catalyst for his subsequent decisions. His death is the pivot, after which we see the generational trauma in his son, Jason. There is a bit about the police corruption that allows Cross to benefit from Glanton's death – with little said about the actual circumstances around it.
In the end, there is no shining moment of justice. There is no truth revealed, no comeuppance for a wrongful death. In its place, just a tender moment between Jason, Luke's son, and his adoptive father Kofi; and half a reckoning for Cross. Thematically – probably appropriate – snap decisions with drastic consequences abound on all sides.
Aesthetically: Philip Glass features in the soundtrack; grey landscapes to really grind in the poverty and inescapable social circumstances. (3/5)