My 2013 Favorite

Hey there!

How’s your week been so far?

I’ve been snuggled up on my couch all day today, hiding from this freezing, dull November weather, when suddenly the thought struck me that another year is soon coming to an end! Can you believe it? I can still remember early January when I had thought exactly the opposite: How incredibly long a year seems to be when it’s just started… and now it’s almost over. It’s crazy how time flies, isn’t it?

Anyway, at the end of the year I usually try to review some of my best impressions, and when I was doing that today I came to think of a movie that was showing this year and that I’d like to tell you about. It’s The Place Beyond The Pines, directed by Derek Cianfrance.

I had already heard loads of excellent reviews on that movie when I finally decided to go and watch it. Unfortunately, they had outlined the plot on the radio, so I already knew what it was about, but still – it was a-ma-zing! Actually, I immediately added it to my personal top-twenty movie ranking.

It’s a little difficult to talk about the movie’s plot without giving away the best parts which, at least in my eyes, make it such a stunningly good movie, and I don’t want to spoil it. But I’ll try to outline it without saying too much:

The Place Beyond The Pines consists of three parts that are seemingly independent but, as you find out when the story unfolds, are actually closely linked.

Main character in part one is Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling – yeah, I know, the girls love him; but he’s not the reason why I love that movie, even though I think that he does play his role amazingly good). He’s a motorcycle stuntman in his twenties, quite poor, no future ahead of him. Incidentally, he finds out he has a one-year-old son together with his former girlfriend (Eva Mendes – now I’ve got your attention, too; right, guys? ;). Desperate to support his son, at least financially, he goes astray and starts robbing banks to get money.

The second part is told from Avery Cross’ (Bradley Cooper – another outstanding performance) point of view. The young policeman shoots a criminal in an ambiguous situation. Although from then on he is celebrated as a hero in public and his deed helps boost his career, in private he is haunted by the feeling of guilt.

The last part of the movie takes place 15 years later and deals with both Jason’s (Dane DeHaan) and AJ’s (Emory Cohen) lives. While Jason comes from a poor family, AJ is the son of an influential politician. The two teenagers get to know each other in school and get involved in drug trafficking together.

I won’t go any further regarding the plot in order to keep the good stuff secret for anyone who’d like to watch that movie one day. But if you’d ask me to sum it up, I’d say it’s a movie about guilt – the guilt of not being able to meet your responsibilities as well as the guilt of knowing you made a mistake without ever being uncovered, the guilt of having something you don’t deserve, the guilt of depriving someone else of their rights, the guilt of looking away when you could be making a difference.

If you want to get a better impression, here’s the trailer:

Now, why I love that movie? Well, where to start? There are a hundred reasons!

Firstly, the plot is not the usual love story (not at all, to be precise), nor is it a pure action movie (personally, too much action most times bores me). There’s just the right amount of everything in it – action, crime, thriller, emotions. In a certain way, it’s a drama, but in another way a coming-of-age story as well. The actors did an outstanding job, too. There’s this suspense throughout the movie that makes you hold your breath. And, best of all: it’s absolutely realistic. When the movie was over, I thought: Yep, that is exactly what life is actually like. Also, there is no happy ending (which, I admit, is always a little depressing, but still, nor is life like that most times, is it?).

I think the reason why The Place Beyond The Pines was stuck in my mind for such a long time (it was showing at some time in early summer, I think) is that it stands out to many of those Hollywood movies that seem to be flooding the market. It’s just somehow… hm, I can’t find another word but “different” to describe it, but  different in a really good way.

So what are you waiting for? Go get that movie and watch it! It’s the perfect weather right now, anyway. And don’t forget to tell me what you think of it afterwards – or tell me right away, if you’ve already watched it. I’m curious if anybody shares my opinion or if my taste in movies is just a little strange? ;)

See you soon, byebye :)