The Place Beyond The Pines (2013)

This is one of those dramas that so caught me off guard I wanted to watch it again. It tells the story of two families connected forever by a single moment of tragedy. We first met Ryan Gosling’s character Luke, a motorcycle stuntman who finds out he has a son born from an old fling. In a desire to support his new family he turns to armed robbery. Then we are introduced to Bradley Cooper’s character Avery, a police officer on track to be the man in the white hat who goes after corruption in the police force. How these two men’s destinies are intertwined over the course of sixteen years is unforgettable. Derek Cianfrance co-writes and directs and gives proof that there’s a talent to watch. Blue Valentine, the first film I saw of his, wasn’t a fluke. I’ll be interesting to see how people remember this film in time. I hope it goes on to be considered a new American classic. Grade: A