crime

Rated The Place Beyond the Pines 7/10

This is a slow, well-directed movie that aims to bring to life meditations on fatherhood and the cyclical nature of violence, but never quite does so because its narrative and thematic focus is frequently interrupted. The idea of tackling the the material through a time-spanning saga was an interesting take, but in focusing so much on the masculinities of fathers and sons this film leaves its female characters thinly drawn and wanting. Offering some of her most engaged acting, the treatment of Eva Mendes was, for me, a decisive misstep.