The Place Beyond the Pines

A far more thoughtful and contemplative film than advertised, with a unique structure that really sets it apart from most of its crime brethren. Though it's more than a bit contrived, the story uses the bonds between its characters to explore interesting notions of fatherhood and responsibility. And it's a beautiful film, with more than a few really memorable shots.

swam in its ocean of '70s disaffected machismo for the first act, but the more cianfrance reveals his ambitions toward greek tragedy, the more his grandiose ambience feels like a strain for significance. characters become ciphers conforming to their parts in a pat web of contrivances, as the screenplay goes on and on and on down various rote paths, arriving at a fatalistic, painstakingly symbolic mirroring of father and son, segueing straight into a bon iver song. gross.

Very moody, well acted and involving, if a little contrived in places. It did head in directions I didn't expect, and the three story format worked reasonably well even if the last segment wasn't as compelling as the first two. Liotta is a very reliable bastard in films like these, and Mendelsohn was practically unrecognisable from other things I've seen him in. The score was by Mike Patton? I used to love Faith No More back in the day. Worth a look, this.

The most disappointing, ridiculous third act (after a thrilling first act, btw) in recent memory. The triptych storyline falls flat on its overly ambitious, and lets be honest, pretentious nose. When the "sins of our fathers" bullshit kicks in, my annoyance limit was reached.

Every act becomes a little less interesting, with a third one that hinges on a ridiculous coincidence, but I was still engaged throughout. Must be because of the strong cast, melancholy atmosphere, hauntig music and some great camerawork. It's also refreshing to see a movie with a greater scope like this.