Academy Award nominees Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper star as two men from very different worlds whose paths collide on one very unfortunate day.  Every bit as unfortunate (and intense) are the ripple effects that this meeting creates.

You know he’s dangerous cuz he’s got tatoos…

There are many aspects of this movie that could easily become hokey and melodramatic, however director Derek Cianfrance (who also directed Gosling in Blue Valentine) has given us a very well-crafted film.  What in actuality is three different stories is told as one seamless tale of redemption- successful and otherwise.

Billed as a “crime thriller,” if one expects this film to have a similar tempo to Michael Mann’s Heat one will be sorely disappointed.  Instead Pines should be called a “crime drama,” as Chianfrance explores the consequences of the choices we make while keeping us on the edge of our seats.  Gosling and Cooper shoulder the heft of the acting load, but Emory Cohen and Dane DeHaan steal the show in the latter half of the film.

So THIS is the place beyond the pines eh? Neat.

During an age in which cinema has become a never-ending turnstile of shmaltzy rom-coms, formulaic superhero blockbusters and indistinguishable children’s animation flicks, films like The Place Beyond The Pine are a welcome break from the norm.

Bottom Line: Go See It.