The Place Beyond the Pines

May 19, 20135 - Ryan Gosling reunites with Blue Valentine writer/director Derek Cianfrance for this tale that follows two families as their paths cross over two generations. The cast features Bradley Cooper, Ray Liotta, Eva Mendes, Rose Byrne and Ben Mendelsohn.

Gosling plays Luke, a motorcycle stunt rider in a travelling fair. On a return visit to Schenectady, NY, he learns that a one-night stand produced a son. The baby mama (Mendes) has settled down with another man, but Luke has dreams of becoming a family. He turns to bank robbery so he can get money to make his dreams come true.

One day, a bank robbery goes wrong and Luke ends up cornered in a house. In a bang-bang shootout, Luke is killed by police officer Avery Cross (Cooper). Cross suffers a gunshot to the leg and is hailed as a hero. The fateful encounter between Luke and Cross sets in motion a series of events that eventually involves the sons of both men.

Overall review: ** Not as good as I hoped. The story is told in segments that jump ahead in chunks of time. Gosling's part ends about 1/3 of the way through, and I kind of lost interest after that. That's not good for a film that runs 2:20.