Genre:
Drama
Directed by:
Derek Cianfrance
Starring:
Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva
Mendes, Greta Gerwig
Release date:
Fri 29, Mar 2013
The Place Beyond the Pines is a
2013 crime drama film directed by Derek
Cianfrance, written by Cianfrance, Ben Coccio and Darius Marder. It stars Ryan
Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, and Ray Liotta. The film reunites
Cianfance and Gosling, with whom he worked on 2010's Blue Valentine. The title
is the English meaning of the city of Schenectady, New York, which is derived
loosely from a Mohawk word for "place beyond the pine plains.
Plot
Luke Glanton (Gosling) is a
locally-famous motorcycle stuntman working in a traveling act for state fairs.
While the fair is in Schenectady, Glanton is visited by his former lover,
Romina (Mendes), who tells him that she has a son that belongs to Glanton.
Glanton quits his job as a stuntman to stay in town and provide for his child,
but Romina does not want him in the child’s life, as she has started a family
with another man, Kofi.
Glanton turns to Robin, an auto
repair shop owner, for part-time employment as he continuously attempts to
insert himself into his son’s life. Making only minimum wage, Glanton asks
Robin for more money to care for his son. Robin reveals that he was once a bank
robber, and offers to partner with Glanton to hit several banks in the area.
The duo perform several successful heists, in which Glanton performs the
robbery, then uses his motorbike as a getaway vehicle and drives it into the
unmarked truck driven by Robin. Glanton uses the new money to win back Romina’s
trust and visits her and his son more often. Romina’s live-in boyfriend, Kofi,
objects to his presence, and the two have an altercation at Kofi’s house that
results in Glanton’s arrest for assault after he hits Kofi in the head with a
wrench.
Robin bails Glanton from jail, who
immediately wants to resume their bank robberies. Robin objects, not wanting to
press their luck, and the two have a falling-out that results in Glanton
stealing back the bail money he owed Robin at gunpoint. Glanton attempts to rob
a bank alone, and is pursued by police. He falls off his bike during the chase
and seeks refuge in a resident’s home, where he is pursued by Officer Avery
Cross (Cooper). Glanton, sensing defeat, corners himself upstairs and calls
Romina. Just before Cross confronts him, Glanton asks Romina not to tell their
child about who he was. Cross enters the room and fires the first shot; Glanton
falls out the second-story window after shooting Cross in the leg. Glanton does
not survive the fall.
The narrative switches to Cross,
who is a low-ranking officer that gains hero status after his takedown of the
notorious Glanton. Cross is guilty about his actions, especially upon
discovering that Glanton had a son, as Cross has an infant of his own. Cross’s
fellow officers want justice for Cross’s injured leg, so they unlawfully seize
the robbed money from Romina’s home and give it to Cross to keep. Cross
eventually brings the situation to his commanding officer, Deluca (Liotta), who
dismisses the charges, unwilling to indict his own department. Still seeking
justice, Cross manages to record a fellow officer bribing him, and uses the
recording to blackmail his way into getting a position as the assistant defense
attorney.
Fifteen years later, Cross is
running for public office, and has to deal with his now high school-aged son
AJ, who has gotten into trouble with drugs. Cross has separated from his wife
and agrees to take AJ into his home, transferring him into the local high
school. There AJ befriends Jason, whom neither of the boys know is the son of
Luke Glanton. The two are arrested for felony drug possession, and when Cross
is called in to pick up his son, he recognizes Jason’s name and realizes who he
is. He pulls some strings to get Jason’s charge dropped to a misdemeanor, and
orders AJ to stay away from Jason (though the boys continue to talk).
Jason seeks the truth about his
biological father, whom Romina refuses to discuss with him. He Googles his
father’s name and discovers Glanton’s past. He visits Robin’s auto shop, who
tells Jason more about Luke, including his superior motorbiking skills. Jason
eventually realizes that AJ’s father is the man who killed his own father.
Seeking revenge, he breaks into Cross’s house and beats AJ at gunpoint. When
Cross arrives home, Jason holds him hostage and orders him to drive into the
woods. As Jason prepares to kill Cross to avenge his father, Cross apologizes
for what he did to Glanton. Jason feels regret and runs away, leaving Cross
behind.
Cross wins his bid for public
office, his son AJ at his side. Jason runs away from home and buys a motorbike,
with the intention of heading west to make his own life as a traveler, like his
father.
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References.
External links:
"Main Page." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 April. 2013. Web. 06 April. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>.
https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi
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