The Place Beyond the Pines

Men, we can give up. No woman will ever love us again. I saw Ryan Gosling sleeveless and giggling while feeding an infant ice cream. We've lost. Give up.

Okay, but seriously, this movie is messed up. But it's nothing short of mesmerizing. People seemed to have a problem with it's story telling - how it's three separate stories told from beginning to end, transferring to new characters as they're introduced. But I loved it. It made a movie where characters pasts were known by us, but not to them. Which in some places made me want to scream the truth to the screen, and other times made me want the talking character to shut up before they said too much.

I guess we can start with Ryan Gosling, who sadly for us men, is gorgeous and talented. We lose, guys, because he's mesmerizing. What's amazing about him, though, is that he always maintains that sexy Ryan Gosling women rip their pants off for, but still manages to be broken. I've never seen Gosling lower than in this movie, and I feel so strongly for him. I look at him and instead of seeing a man cast for his looks who happens to be talented, I see a broken man at the end of his rope who happens to be very physically attractive, but too far gone to be able to use it. It was heart wrenching to watch his character spiral out of control, as you desperately want him to succeed.

Bradley Cooper comes into the film a bit later, and dear god can this man act. Again, pretty and talented, although I only just became a fan after Silver Linings, before never really being impressed by him. Here, he plays a morally confused cop, one who must debate between doing the morally right thing or potential protection of himself and his family. It's the first time the obvious choice is debatable that I've seen in a while, at least in a film like this. And it worked. I struggled with what I'd tell him to do as well. And his struggle was obvious.

Finally, there's the under appreciated Dane DeHaan, who I'm totally being serious, was the reason I wanted to see this movie. I already love Gosling and Cooper, but DeHaan is a brilliant up and coming actor. I can't wait to see where his career brings him, because he's absolutely going to win an Oscar before his time is gone. Here he plays a lonely high school kid trying to find out who his father was and what became of him, and why his family refuses to talk about it. The brilliant part is, we know. And it's heart wrenching to watch him unravel the truth about himself.

This is a brilliant film, with additional great performances from Eva Mendes and Ray Liotta. If this happens to be playing in your area, absolutely make it a priority to watch it.

Score: 5/5