The Place Beyond the Pines

One of those rare American epics with big Hollywood stars that we don't see much anymore — maybe one or two a year, if we're lucky. It feels like writers these days aren't tackling stories that span decades and generations as often, probably because crafting a family saga full of tragic twists isn't for the faint of heart. But I really enjoyed this one. The only downside is that it essentially splits into two different stories. Ryan Gosling shines in the first half, and just when you’re hooked on his character, the focus shifts to Dane DeHaan, who takes over the screen. It might feel a bit uneven and could frustrate some viewers, but when you step back and look at the film as a whole, it's a really intriguing piece of work. (30.06.2021)

I have with this movie the same problem I had with Cianfrance’s previous one, Blue Valentine. Once again, the director-screenwriter attempts to present a broad indie social drama, but he’s unable to convincingly deliver and defend any of the conflicts that make the basis of the plot. As a result, the whole thing feels like disingenuous and manipulative stuff that wants to look important, and that’s all there is to it. In the first act it still works somehow, thanks mainly to Gosling’s charisma. Things start to grind in the second act, and the last act is, well, almost ridiculous. I’m very disappointed, I was really looking forward to it, but it seems that with Derek we don’t see eye-to-eye. 5/10 (10.05.2013)

With such a duo in the lead roles, it couldn't have turned out any other way. Bradley Cooper steals every scene with his brilliant performance without hesitation, and Ryan Gosling only needs one look for the motorcycles in the film to be different than before. These pine trees at first seem like a proper probe into souls on opposite sides of the barricade, like an excellent dramatic arc that I will be talking about for some time. But behind that stone in the stomach that dragged me down for over two hours, there is simply something more. And when the viewer lets a few pivotal moments pass before their eyes and connects them back into a single whole, it will shake you up at least one more time. (19.03.2013)

The mood of this film is in the spirit of Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River mixed with Ben Affleck’s The Town, but slower, more extensive, more attentive to the characters and with more layers of thought. It is a powerful film about people, actions and consequences, responsibility, guilt and forgiveness. The viewer’s engagement in the story deepens with every tenminute increment. Its music is unconventional, even hypnotic – the silent chants used as the background to the last quarter of the film lend it, in the context of a culminating relationship collision, the fateful depth that Terrence Malick’s recent films only pretend to have by using similar chants. I was looking forward to seeing Ryan Gosling, but Bradley Cooper overshadowed him by delivering his best, most intimate performance to date. I am surprised that producer Sidney Kimmel didn’t do more lobbying at the Academy, because this is an independent American film at the level of Sergio Leone. (07.04.2014)

An Iñárritu-esque movie in the form of a Kinder Surprise; it also offers three (un)similar things in one package. Tremendously powerful in many aspects; from the details like "wearing shabby t-shirts inside out" to building a dense atmosphere. What spoils the enthusiasm somewhat is the third act, which is not bad in itself, but still crouches deep in the shadow of the opening two acts. It is schematic, predictable, and somewhat didactic. Which, since it is meant to close the circle, is a little unfortunate. Quite a little bit. (17.03.2013)