The Place Beyond the Pines

*ing : Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes
Director : Derek Cianfrance

Tagline : One moment can change your life.

The synopsis for this movie sounds so much more interesting than it actually is. There were no redeeming characters, no one was conflicted over anything, no one wanted to achieve anything in particular. There was no great passion, no inner turmoil, no big lesson to be learned, not much of anything at all. I'm not dense, and I do enjoy subtlety in a movie, but unfortunately this movie only hinted at possible conflicts that never actually made it to screen.

The motorcycle rider quits his job when he learns that he has a kid. It's not a job he loves (but it could have been) and he doesn't particularly care about the girl (though it would have been more interesting if he did); she was just a one night stand from a year or two earlier and he never bothered to call her again. Had he been desperately looking for work, and finally resorted to robbing banks, it might have been interesting, but no, he robbed banks as a first resort and without great passion. Had the woman and her child been destitute, had they been victims of domestic violence, then you might have understood his desire to help them, but no, he just wanted to give them money (which they didn't particularly need).

Had the cop been tortured by the fact that he lied about the shooting, had he been wanting to tell the truth but was conflicted; had he some inner demon sabotaging him throughout his life, then his story might have carried some weight, but no, he lived a normal life and advanced his career as one might do.

Had the motorcycle rider's son been desperately seeking a father figure his whole life, then his discovery of the identity of the cop would have been dramatic, but no, he had a normal life with a loving step-father, and so the discovery was no big deal. But assuming it was a big deal (a very big assumption) you might have expected him to exact revenge with some clever plot, but no, he simply threatens to kill the guy (for no apparent reason) and then changes his mind at the last minute…of course.

They missed the dramatic mark in every possible way. It was lazy writing to say the least. A movie has to actually create conflict and motivation, it can't leave it up to the audience to assume that people are conflicted, or that something matters to them. I think anyone who gave it a good review must have read way more into the movie than was actually there.

Rating :
* & 1/2