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movie review - The Place Beyond the Pines

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

This is a movie about two men with young sons in the same town. One is a penniless drifter, the other a rising star in the police force. The drifter, who arrives in town with the circus where he's a motorcycle stunt man, discovers that he's a father after a year away. Deciding that he has a responsibility to provide for the child, he hatches a plan with a mechanic acquaintance to rob a bank. This leads to more robberies, and an intersection with the police officer, who shoots the stuntman dead.

The movie deals with the corruption of the town, and how the officer eventually takes a path into politics by way of dealing with the corruption in the force.

Incredibly, we then move on to the two young sons in their teens, when they've become friends. The stuntman's son is heading into crime, and the whole thing begins again.

The performances in the thing are universally excellent and the mood throughout is note-perfect. I didn't know what this was going to be about - no trailer covered all of the above - but I'm certainly glad I took a chance on this thing. I don't have a lot of time for movies these days but this was worth seeing.

Strongly recommended.