#moviereview - The Place Beyond The Pines

                                                             ★★★★★

I'm start by saying this: I loved this movie.

Nashville is starting to get more and more limited release films, but we didn't get this film until it has it's nationwide release, so that was two weeks after it's initial release date. Yes, I could wait two weeks, but I was becoming more and more antsy as the days went by.

"Only two more weeks!"

"Only one more week!"

"Is it Friday yet?!"

Well, this past weekend was hectic, so I didn't get to see it until yesterday morning. (I'm glad I went to the matinee. I'm a happy girl only paying $8.50 for a movie!) It's been a long time since I've been to a movie with an almost empty theatre. I like watching movies with crowds because... well, I'm an observer, and I love hearing and seeing lots of people's reactions to movies. It was nice being in a theatre with five other people.

Anyways, onto what you all really want to know...

[minor spoilers ahead]
This film, from start to finish, was amazing. The film gets straight to the point with every character this is introduced. There are three parts to this film. Part one focuses on Luke (Ryan Gosling), part two focuses on Avery (Bradley Cooper), and part three focuses on Jason (Dane DeHaan) and AJ (Emory Cohen).

When I read some reviews a few months ago, I was worried about how each part would transition into the next. Would it be sudden? Would we understand why the transitions were happening? Thankfully, the transitions were smooth. Luke and Avery cross paths at the end of part one, and that's how we transition into part two. Transitioning into part three is sudden, but only because it takes place 15 years after part two.

Each actor and actress did an amazing job in this film. The commercials do not lie - this was Bradley Cooper's best performance to date. Granted, I've only seen him in a handful of films (mostly "The Hangover" series), but I've always kept my eye on him. I am always raving about what a wonderful job he did in last year's "Silver Linings Playbook" (and I will stand my ground as a firmly say, if Daniel Day-Lewis had not been in the running, he would have won the Oscar). I was in awe with his performance in this film. He really let the audience know how good of an actor he is with this film.

Dane DeHaan ("Chronicle" and "Lawless") was another actor that stood out for me in this film. He's an actor I'm really excited to see in more films (especially in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"). His performance was so, so good. We find out AJ and Jason are connected by an event that happened 15 years prior. Dane gives a compelling performance, and the later part of part three made sit anxiously on the edge of my seat. While I figured he wouldn't kill anyone, I was still thinking, "What if he really did kill ____ or ____?"

As I said above, everyone did an amazing job in this film. I can honestly say there was not a bad performance in this film. Everyone did an amazing job letting themselves become these characters that face such turmoil in their lives. Some of these people may come off as happy, or fine, towards people, but we learn that they face a lot of struggle. Luke is trying to get by, not only for his son, but for himself and those close to him; Avery faces an internal struggle after killing a man; Jason is trying to figure out who he is. These struggles make these characters real, and they make us feel sympathetic towards these customers.

Perhaps the only problem I had with this movie was the cintematography, but I was barely bothered by it. So many films these days have a shaky camera that it doesn't make me so sick anymore. Yes it was hard to focus on certain scenes (like when Luke was racing through the forest on his motorcycle), but perhaps that was the point.

This film is long, as it's almost two and a half hours, but it doesn't feel that long. (Perhaps I'm used to this, seeing as many action flicks run around this time length.) If you like drama films, go see this. If you've thought to yourself, "That looks good...", go see this. I loved this film, and yes, there are some great movies that are supposed to be coming out this year, but I'd be surprised if this wasn't in my top 3 at the end of the year.

Watch the trailer right here: