The Place Beyond the Pines

I should probably start off by saying hello, it's been a while.  I could well have a justifiable excuse for why I haven't posted on here in quite some time, maybe I've been off seeking adventures, eating exotic fruit and working on my tan in some remote place out of the reach of all technology...but sadly I haven't. A) I've been here the whole time and B) the closest I've gotten to a tropical paradise was watching Leo DiCaprio becoming slightly unhinged in The Beach last night. But never mind! The important thing is I've taken that first step, dusted off my blogger password and I'm ready to ease myself back in with a topic we all know and love: Gosling.

Well actually, I'm going to talk about The Place Beyond the Pines, but let's be honest, it's all about Ryan and Bradley (yep, we're now on first name terms). I've been waiting for the film's DVD release for a good while and on Friday night, I settled down for the much-anticipated Gosling-Cooper sandwich. Sounds good already hey? 

In all seriousness, the film was great. I really enjoyed the director's last offering, Blue Valentine and for that reason was expecting good things. The first part of the film follows Luke Glanton (Gosling) and his struggle to provide for his new family.  We see the extreme lengths he's driven to in his mission to prove himself to the mother of his child, Eva Mendes, as well as his attempts to build a relationship with his new son. We know Ryan can do the whole brooding/violent/protective stunt driver thing from Drive. Swap the car for a motorbike, add a few tattoos, some daring skull-print pajama pants and a more sensitive, parental side and you're moving towards TPBTP. What I like about the beginning of the film is that it doesn't take very long before you're thrown into action-packed car chases - if, like me, your attention span is close to that of a goldfish, rest assured that you'll be hooked within the first 20 minutes.

Next, we're introduced to Cooper's character, an ambitious cop caught in the middle of a corrupt police system and facing struggles of his own, both relating to his work and to his own family, before the story shifts to the relationship between the two characters' sons. 

I won't talk about the plot in too much detail because I'm one of those people who gets really annoyed if someone spoils a film, but what I will say is that the movement between characters and generations, and the intertwining of story lines is really clever. It's engaging from beginning to end, with enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat and enough dimension behind the characters that, through exploring their motives and relationships, this becomes more than just another crime drama. It's unpredictable, fast-paced and all in all, a pretty brilliant film.

Need more Gosling in your life? Watch TPBTP. 

(and get this app: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2394715/Need-Ryan-Gosling-life-Theres-app-that.html)