Overview
A gripping tale of desperation and legacy unfolds in a world of crime and consequence.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- melancholic
- brooding
- intimate
- reflective evening
- crime drama marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's ambitious generational scope, performances, atmosphere, cinematography, and study of masculinity, while noting that its long final act and narrative transitions could feel overextended.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Luke's actions and Avery's corruption reverberate through the lives of their sons fifteen years later.
Luke, Avery, and the teenage boys all struggle with fatherhood, status, violence, and masculine expectations.
The film moves from carnival grounds and backstreets to police institutions and suburban homes across fifteen years.
The focus shifts from Luke to Avery and then to the two high school boys inheriting their fathers' consequences.
Films like The Place Beyond the Pines, and why
Mystic River
shared multi-generational crime drama, masculine alienation, and morally conflicted protagonists
A History of Violence
shared tragic crime storytelling, institutional corruption, and inherited consequences across families
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
shared ambitious American drama, father son legacy, and bleak examination of masculinity
Traffic
shared intergenerational structure, crime, and intimate emotional fallout from past actions
Movie Details
- Director
- Derek Cianfrance
- Release Date
- 2013-03-20
- Runtime
- 140 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (5336)
Cast
- Ryan Gosling
- Bradley Cooper
- Eva Mendes
- Rose Byrne
- Ray Liotta
- Dane DeHaan
- Emory Cohen
- Mahershala Ali
- Bruce Greenwood
- Ben Mendelsohn
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Place Beyond the Pines about?
- A motorcycle stuntman’s desperate attempt to support his secret son unleashes a fifteen-year chain of crime, corruption, and inherited reckoning.
- What is The Place Beyond the Pines like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Place Beyond the Pines as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Place Beyond the Pines violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Place Beyond the Pines as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Place Beyond the Pines?
- Critics broadly praised the film's ambitious generational scope, performances, atmosphere, cinematography, and study of masculinity, while noting that its long final act and narrative transitions could feel overextended.
- Which films are like The Place Beyond the Pines?
- Films with a similar feel include Mystic River, A History of Violence, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and Traffic.
- How long is The Place Beyond the Pines?
- The Place Beyond the Pines runs 140 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Place Beyond the Pines?
- In United States, The Place Beyond the Pines is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
