Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 42 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 105 Ratings

  • Starring: Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ryan Gosling
  • Summary: A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 42
  2. Negative: 0 out of 42
  1. Reviewed by: Richard Roeper
    Mar 27, 2013
    100
    The music, the cinematography, the acting choices, the daring plot leaps — not a single element is timid or safe...The Place Beyond the Pines earns every second of its 140-minute running time.
  2. Reviewed by: Mike Scott
    Apr 12, 2013
    80
    It's not a perfect film. There's still room for Cianfrance to grow as a storyteller. But it is entirely rewarding -- and I, for one, can't wait to see where he takes us next.
  3. Reviewed by: Tom Huddleston
    Apr 29, 2013
    80
    An enormously satisfying film: carefully observed and consistently compelling, it feels like an instant American classic, if a minor one.
  4. Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    Mar 28, 2013
    60
    The poetry in The Place Beyond the Pines can be elusive, but also easy to get lost in.

See all 42 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 47
  2. Negative: 4 out of 47
  1. Easily the best of 2013 so far. This movie had so much emotion with the soundtrack, characters, and symbolism. Where Django Unchained had me at the edge of my seat with excitment and laughter, PBP hit me right in the heart and soul. Expand
  2. This hard-to-remember title is actually the native tribe's name for Schenectady, which is where the movie takes place…in 3 parts. First, motororcycle stunt rider (Ryan Gosling) decides to stay in the town where he's fathered a child (with Eva Mendes). His turn to crime segues into part 2, when a good cop (Bradley Cooper) faces corruption on the force. Part 3 takes place 15 years later. Director Derek Cianfrance LOVES Gosling (they did the self-indulgent "Blue Valentine" together). He lingers on his face in extreme closeups, while Gosling broods and emotes. The rest of the cast is also strong, but it's the complex, compelling script that involves (except the contrived clincher near the end). This is a relentless downer, but a completely absorbing experience. Expand
  3. This can only be described as major disappointment. The story trajectory is sound, but the whole thing is so slow and drawn out that any real involvement with the characters just doesn't happen. Also, unlike many critics I was more interested in the segments involving Bradley Cooper and the two sons than I was in the Ryan Gosling section, despite this actor's obvious magnetism. It's a shame because there are some wonderful nuances and subtleties throughout which just made me yearn for the film it might have been. Expand
  4. Nak
    3
    Very good acting, slow tedious development of the drama. Three different episodes poorly laced together. I'd rather seen them as three individual stories. No cinematic innovation in three very predictable outcomes.
    It's a bland production.
    Expand

See all 47 User Reviews

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