I saw this film on the same day
as Iron Man 3 and to put it very
briefly, I enjoyed this film much more. Maybe it was that this was the first
film I saw that day, or could have been the scale, story and ambition that this
film had in abundance. It was by no means perfect, but as everyone says “no film
is perfect”.
Pines is the second film from director and co-writer Derek
Cianfrance, who gave us the bruising Blue
Valentine in 2010. In this film we are given a generational story about
fathers and sons, manhood and coming of age that underlines every action and
plot point in the film. As with Valentine,
Cianfrance has attracted an impressive cast that really helps to bring depth to
every character, even those whose lives we only meet briefly.
Spoilers below.
One of the films biggest talking
points and most ambitious elements is its structure. Arguably the film could be
interpreted as having two, three or even four parts. This is down to two
similarly substantial changes in each of the two time periods, which
dramatically change the events and nature of the characters and the narrative.
To explain, the film is broken
into two time periods, separated by a fifteen year time jump that occurs around
two thirds of the way through the film. In the first part we follow, first Ryan
Gosling’s Luke, a motorcycle stunt driver who takes to robbing banks to support
his one year old son. We then transition
to Bradley Cooper’s Avery, a police officer who chases Luke down.
What makes Pines so interesting is that the two leading men only have one
extended sequence together, other than that they spend no time together on
camera.
Following the jump forward we
meet each man’s son. They both go to the
same school and become friends. It is a coincidence, but by this point the film
has earned that and it is never emphasised, it is down to luck, in much the
same way that their fathers met.
As for the structure, the film is
driven in its individual parts by the male leads of that chapter. Gosling is
the first we meet, so it seems only right that we start there. Gosling gives
one of his better performances, but it still feels forced and at times over
acted as he tries to make this character come across as believable. It’s hard
to say where it doesn’t feel right, or comes across as natural, there just
seems to be a feeling that it isn’t completely working. He is light years
better than he was in Drive, but not
quite on the level of Half Nelson.
Quite simply, this is one of, if
not the best performances I have ever seen Bradley Cooper give and tops off a
great year for him with this and Silver
Linings Playbook. The film picks up whenever he is on screen, as he deals
with the press and police force following his heroics in his meeting with
Luke. Corruption is all around him as he
tries to make sense of it and find a way out, one that benefits him. In the
space of forty minutes, we see Cooper manage to drive this character through
his arc and evolve before our eyes. It is undoubtedly his character and actions
that anchor and centre the film. A lesser performance would have caused the films
third act pay off to fall flat and all of its stakes to fade.
Finally the two sons are played
by Dane DeHaan (Luke’s son) and Emory Cohen (Avery’s son), some people have
argued that this section is the film’s strongest section and has the most
interesting characters. Maybe this is true because we get to see the
consequences and conclusion to everything that has come before with their
fathers, as well as the end of the own story.
Cohen as AJ, gives a flamboyant,
arrogant performance that fits with his cocky snide character who you at first
like, but quickly start to dislike and then ultimately downright dis-guard.
DeHaan as Jason is a much subtler subdued character, playing a working class
down trodden young man who seems to find life a struggle, despite the home he
comes from, where his stepfather has done everything he can bring Jason up
properly, something his father could have never done.
It may have been given an odd
release date, post awards and next to one of the summers biggest releases, but
this is one film that shouldn’t be missed and definitely experienced on a big
screen.
