His one attempt at robbing a bank solo goes terribly wrong and he's pursued by the local police force. The heists go off without a hitch and Luke begins buying his son such necessities as a crib, but after a violent altercation with Kofi and falling out with Robin, Luke becomes desperate and sloppy. He quits his job and finds work at an auto repair shop, but his dead-end existence precludes him from contributing to the extent he would like, so he and his boss, Robin (Ben Mendelsohn), a former bank robber, hatch a plan to knock off several local bank branches and split the proceeds. Even though Romina (Eva Mendes) is now settled with Kofi (Mahershala Ali), a new (and devoted) boyfriend, Luke wants to be a part of his child's life and support him financially. A nomadic motorcycle stunt driver who tours with a traveling carnival, Luke at last finds purpose and meaning when he returns to the blue-collar town of Schenectady, New York and learns a one-night stand he had with an attractive Hispanic waitress the previous year produced a son. "If you ride like lightning, you're gonna crash like thunder" is an oft-repeated line from the film, and it fits the desperate personality of Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling) like a glove. It's a marvelous and complex method of storytelling, and Cianfrance flawlessly pulls it off. Each story seems to possess a beginning, middle, and end, but after a while, it's clear human existence is a continuum a spirit may lie dormant for years and then suddenly begin to resonate, while it may take an equal amount of time for the effects of a devastating action to be fully absorbed. At first, we're immersed in one life, then another crashes into that person's orbit, and like a tag team, we next follow the intruder's arc, which is shaped and influenced by the collision. Cianfrance, who co-wrote the script with Ben Coccio and Darius Marder, divides his tale into a trio of distinct sections, each of which puts different characters under a microscope. While inherently cinematic, 'The Place Beyond the Pines' is cleverly structured like a stage play. Though methodical and measured, the film teeters on a taut thread that always seems on the verge of snapping, and also transmits an agonizing sense of foreboding, especially during the riveting third act. The story of two men whose paths cross for only a split second, but whose legacies will powerfully intersect years later, shows how character and impulse can shape generations and alter the trajectories of many lives. Ramifications are a consequence of almost any choice we make in life, but how long do the ripples reverberate? According to 'The Place Beyond the Pines,' the newest drama from director Derek Cianfrance ( 'Blue Valentine'), the answer is, possibly, forever.
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