The Place Beyond The Pines has echoes of the more mainstream elements of David Lynch in its intertwining lives of a motorcycle stunt rider (Ryan Gosling), an idealistic cop (Bradley Cooper) and their two sons. Told over a sprawling but clearly-defined three acts, the opener is by far the most compelling, but the remainder are worthy, even if the final section is predictably but necessarily contrived. The film is a dazzling and absorbing watch: cinematic composition is frequently lovingly created, and Cianfrance elicits impeccable performances from the leads and subsidiary actors almost right across the board. In particular, Gosling inhabits his character completely, Cooper shows real attention to detail, and Eva Mendes plays against type wonderfully, with great support from the likes of Dane DeHaan, Bruce Greenwood and Ray Liotta. The long running time enables the central theme of actions and consequences to be played out fully, and whilst the engrossingly unpredictable start is not sustained all the way through, The Place Beyond The Pines is a superbly-crafted and expertly-delivered film.
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