The Place Beyond The Pines (2012)

Robin: If you ride like lightning, you're going to crash like thunder.

Set in a small New York town, Schenectady, The Place Beyond The Pines is a drama focused on two families and spanning over two decades that depicts the consequences of actions taken long before. The film is set in three stages, with the first part centered on Luke (Ryan Gosling), a motorcycle racer with a propensity for violence and dangerous behavior. After knowing he has a son with his girlfriend Romina (Eva Mendes), he tries to turn a new leaf in order to provide for his family. Being attracted to quick ways of making money by robbing small banks, he finds himself in a tricky situation when he is cornered in a house by  rookie cop, Avery (Bradley Cooper). In a fast turn of events, Luke gets killed in the encounter and Avery becomes the local hero.

In the second stage of the movie, while Avery recuperates from his injuries, he is joined one day by his veteran colleagues who introduce him into the corrupt world of cops by targeting blacks and other minorities, as happens to be Romina's family in this case. After being witness to the harassment of Romina's family, he finds himself conflicted between doing the right thing and earning some quick cash. When he finally does the right thing by reporting the corrupt cops, he sees....surprise! surprise!......even the head of the department is involved in it. On the advice of his father and driven by his own ambition, he turns the situation to his own advantage and is made Assistant District Attorney.

15 years later...in typical Bollywood style (it's not always that our boys get "inspired" by Hollywood), Avery's son finds himself in the same class as Luke's son and they become friends. No points for guessing what'd happen next....

For some reason I have always found Ryan Gosling very over-rated. He reminds me of our very own Ajay Devgan's portrayal of an always-smoking-and-in-deep-thought brooding personality in all his movies post D-Company. The second half of the movie gets more interesting with Bradley Cooper's conflicted personality as he tries to weigh in his own ambitions as opposed to "justice". Special mention for Ray Liotta as the menacing corrupt cop because even though he doesn't have much screen time, his presence was the only time that made me sit up and pray for poor Avery. The movie is engrossing at times, while mostly it's predictable. I tried this movie after reading brilliant reviews for director Derek Cianfrance, but for someone who has grown up watching Bollywood dramas, it's just another one of those films that try too hard to stir up emotions and sympathy for the poor while trying to show how the system and the society fails them.

I'll still go with a decent rating to discount the fact that I might have been pissed off due to the rain and the fact that I didn't have chilled beer stocked up at home.

Rating: 7/10