A tattooed man flicks a knife between his fingers. The man puts down the knife and exits his trailer only to be lost in a crowd of carnies, customers, the night's life. The man approaches a tent of roaring spectators waiting for a show of minimal thrill. The man puts on a helmet while sitting on a motorcycle. The man drives his motorcycle into a cage. The man's motorcycle is lost within the rising roars of an audience.
This is the opening scene of "The Place Beyond the Pines". The scene is so wonderfully crafted and lyrical one would think they are seeing a Cormac Mccarthy novel being projected into instant images. Although this scene(as well as some other scenes) seem to promise a great sense of craft, their level of ingenuity cannot be said for the rest of the film.
Make no mistake, in its structure "The Place Beyond the Pines" is an ambitious movie and because of this ambition the movie could very easily be considered great. The movie attempts to paint a canvas of the relationship between fathers and sons within three segments while by the end trying to make them all seem coherent. While on paper the idea of building a movie in such a way may have sounded enticing the final product ends up a bit disjointed and tedious.
Director Derek Cianfrance has a knack for writing engaging characters.(As also seen in "Blue Valentine") As to the notion of Cianfrance's characters being likable is an idea worth debating, but what can be said is he has a craft for establishing people one would want to know more about. Yet where Cianfrance seems to fall short is finding ways to keep his story constantly fluid after introducing such interesting characters.
It is understandable why themes of parenthood and the repercussions of parenthood would be ideal for a film revolving around interlocking characters. In a recent interview Derek Cianfrance mentioned he looked to films such as "The Deer Hunter" as inspiration for "The Place Beyond the Pines". What "The Deer Hunter" has is a coherent sense of direction and where each character harbors their emotional beats while covering enormous themes within its lengthy time frame. "The Place Beyond the Pines" on the other hand seems to freeze in its own massive structure, not knowing what to do with its simple theme for two and a half hours. Perhaps if Cianfrance chose to refine his vision for his film's repeating theme he would have had a poetic masterpiece on his hands, instead what he has is a movie that is crushed under its own weight.
Also an extra star for Ryan Gosling's abs.
This is the opening scene of "The Place Beyond the Pines". The scene is so wonderfully crafted and lyrical one would think they are seeing a Cormac Mccarthy novel being projected into instant images. Although this scene(as well as some other scenes) seem to promise a great sense of craft, their level of ingenuity cannot be said for the rest of the film.
Make no mistake, in its structure "The Place Beyond the Pines" is an ambitious movie and because of this ambition the movie could very easily be considered great. The movie attempts to paint a canvas of the relationship between fathers and sons within three segments while by the end trying to make them all seem coherent. While on paper the idea of building a movie in such a way may have sounded enticing the final product ends up a bit disjointed and tedious.
Director Derek Cianfrance has a knack for writing engaging characters.(As also seen in "Blue Valentine") As to the notion of Cianfrance's characters being likable is an idea worth debating, but what can be said is he has a craft for establishing people one would want to know more about. Yet where Cianfrance seems to fall short is finding ways to keep his story constantly fluid after introducing such interesting characters.
It is understandable why themes of parenthood and the repercussions of parenthood would be ideal for a film revolving around interlocking characters. In a recent interview Derek Cianfrance mentioned he looked to films such as "The Deer Hunter" as inspiration for "The Place Beyond the Pines". What "The Deer Hunter" has is a coherent sense of direction and where each character harbors their emotional beats while covering enormous themes within its lengthy time frame. "The Place Beyond the Pines" on the other hand seems to freeze in its own massive structure, not knowing what to do with its simple theme for two and a half hours. Perhaps if Cianfrance chose to refine his vision for his film's repeating theme he would have had a poetic masterpiece on his hands, instead what he has is a movie that is crushed under its own weight.
Also an extra star for Ryan Gosling's abs.
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