Director: Derek CianfranceGenre: Drama
Source: USA (2013)
Rating: R
Location/Format: Island Cinemas
Grade:A-
If there's one thing this movie proves to me, it's how much better Ryan Gosling is than Bradley Cooper as an actor. It's not that Bradley Cooper is bad. In fact, he's actually quite good at this. It's just that the whole time he was on screen (only about a third of the movie, but I'll get to that in a moment) I was thinking, "Hey, Bradley Cooper's pretty good at playing a cop." Whereas the whole time Gosling was on screen--even after I got used to his terrible tattoos--I was drawn into his character's trials and psyche. It's the difference between a star and an actor. Cooper is probably the bigger star, but Gosling is the real actor.
The Place Beyond the Pines almost feels like an anthology film, in that there are really three distinct stories that happen to overlap characters. The first third is Gosling's, the second third Cooper's, and the final section is Chronicle star Dane DeHaan's. It's a testament to director Cianfrance that each story feels pretty well-contained, cohesive, and fleshed out even in its limited run time. Of course, one of the film's themes is the way in which we impact the lives of others, and so several threads--some thin, most blatant--connect the separate stories together. But they blend well together, and though I was sad to leave characters behind as the film moved forward, Cianfrance does a nice job showing how actions ripple forward through time, like a stone dropped in the ocean. There are moments that rely a little heavily on the tropes of indie films (long handheld shots, etc.), but overall I found both the story and the artistic weight of the film to stay with me long after I'd walked out of the theater. And if Cianfrance does get a little Sundance-heavy, he also has a surprising gift for invigorating action. The scenes of Gosling driving through the streets and woods on his motorcycle are some of the most intense I've seen in some time.
It's little touches like that that help the film stand above the fray. It's not the best film I've seen this year, but there's a chance it could make my top ten list.
Alternate Film Title: "Only Ryan Gosling Can Look This Stupid and Get Away With It"
Yeah, the thing that got in the way of this film being great for me was the indie tropes. I thought Bradley Cooper was really terrific, and while I agree that Gosling was great as well, I think I was just ready to see a non-Drive type of character for him. I think maybe he was less interesting to me because his character was more simple and less nuanced than Coopers. That's not his fault as an actor, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteI am embarrassed to admit that I didn't get the connection between the two kids in act 3 until the one mentioned his dad died in a car accident when he was young. DUH...
It is funny that we had opposite reactions regarding the actors. I never once thought of Drive while watching this, though I can see where the overlap lies. But this character seemed so much more on edge to me, so less sure of himself: the high pitch his voice gets to when he robs the banks, the insistent energy with which he enters his ex's house, completely inappropriately. Cooper was more what I expected, while Gosling still surprised me.
ReplyDeleteThe further I get from this film, the more I like it. Might warrant a second watch from me down the line.