The Place Beyond the Pines

While the brutal intimacy of Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine owed a great deal to Cassavetes, this epic follow-up of family, fate and corruption recalls Michael Cimino and Sidney Lumet. And not entirely successfully.

Anchoring a great cast in top form, Ryan Gosling is supercool stuntman Luke, breezing from town to town with his high-wire motorcycle show. Returning to Schenectady on tour, Luke discovers he fathered a child with Romina (Eva Mendes) during a previous visit, and resolves to stick about and play daddy. With the aid of crook Robin (Ben Mendelsohn), Luke utilises his skills in a series of bank robberies to support his broken family. A collision with Bradley Cooper’s rookie cop is inevitable.

Beautifully shot, moodily scored and bold of technique, Cianfrance’s picture buckles under its own ambition. Hamstrung by its unbalanced structure, the final act feels rushed and the necessity to neatly tie-up big themes undoes all the impressive, nuanced groundwork. With an extra hour's runtime this could have been a masterpiece. As things stand, it’s an admirable curiosity. [Chris Fyvie]