RELEASED IN 2012 and directed by Joe Derek Cianfrance, "The Place Beyond the Pines" chronicles events in 1997 in Schenectady, NY, when a bank-robber's confrontation with a rookie police officer (Ryan Gosling & Bradley Cooper) has ramifications on their progeny (Dane DeHaan & Emory Cohen). Eva Mendes and Rose Byrne play the women in their lives while Mahershala Ali and Ray Liotta are on hand as a stepdad and corrupt cop respectively.The intriguing title stems from the Mohawk word 'Schenectady' for "beyond the pine plains" (the city where the events take place). The scheme Luke (Gosling) and Robin (Ben Mendelsohn) utilize to hold up banks was the method Carl Gugasian, the "Friday Night Robber," applied for over three decades.This is a Grade A crime drama/thriller and I found all three acts absorbing, although the first act is arguably the most compelling. Gosling has that Brando-like swagger and charisma, as do DeHaan and Cohen to a lesser degree. Liotta stands out as the shady cop. Unfortunately, the movie's hindered by nonsensical plot elements, like the unjustified guilt of one character (no matter how you slice it, the guy deserved what he got) and the pic in the wallet so many years later. If you can look beyond these dubious components this is a nigh great crime drama. THE FILM RUNS 2 hours & 20 minutes and was shot in Schenectady, New York, and surrounding region (Glenville, Latham, Niskayuna & Altamont). WRITERS: Derek Cianfrance & Ben Coccio along with three scriptwriters. GRADE: B

Sometimes, you never know what the actions of now will create for the future. The Place Beyond the Pines is an incredible film in that it's story goes in one direction and then swerves into another, only to come back around at the end. Not unlike a motorcycle ride. I was thrown for a loop, in the best kind of way. We follow Ryan Gosling's character, a criminal carny performer desperate to provide for his newborn child by robbing banks. He is stopped in his tracks by Bradley Cooper. Cooper kills him, but the guilt he is left with him nearly gets him in the end. He lives with the grief of leaving a little boy fatherless in comparison to his own son, who will never know that his father is a murderer. What happens then is even more interesting. The two sons, a generation apart, form a bond with drugs and alcohol, and both end up repeating the sins of their fathers. One becomes a thug, especially when he realizes that his best friend's father killed his dad all those years ago.What started out for me as shaky territory (love story between Gosling and Mendes) turns into something of a masterpiece that most film lovers overlooked five years ago. A truly captivating drama, with real, raw performances from everyone involved and an intriguing way to tell a tragic story.

I Loved this movie. It's a fairly realistic take on an escalation of events and crossing paths of two families. The writing is more then good and the acting of all characters was well executed. If you would like a change of pace from less serious and less realistic movies and you can handle a good amount of drama, I would say this a a 2 hour and 20 minutes very well spent. A close 8 out of 10 for me.

What have Ryan Gosling, John Wayne and Janet Leigh in common? Watch this movie and you will find out; but for the movie lovers, they already know what I mean. Remember PSYCHO and THE COWBOYS...Just a great drama with some crime lines, cops and bank robbers. But that's not a pure crime movie although. And Ray Liotta plays of course a borderline cop, but his character is very weak. I have not seen many films with such a daring topic. Try it