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THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINESMovie Reviews
Drama about the connection between a motorcycle stunt driver and an ambitious rookie cop, and the eventual impact of their actions years later on their sons. Cast:Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Rose Byrne, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, Dane DeHaan, Bruce Greenwood, Ben Mendelsohn, Mahershala Ali, Harris Yulin, Robert Clohessy, Emory Cohen, Olga Merediz, Kevin Craig West, Gabe FazioDirector:Derek CianfranceRelease Date:March 29, 2013DVD Release: TBD From:Focus FeaturesRating:RLength:2 hr. 20 min.
The Place Beyond the Pines, Good (Not Great) Reviews, Mixed
The Place Beyond the Pines opened to good not great reviews. Reviews were mixed. • S. Jhoanna Robledo wrote for Common Sense Media, "It's not an easy movie to watch. But it's powerful, and Derek Cianfrance has a knack for setting the mood. And his scenes build up the tension so well." More Reviews Below...
The Place Beyond the Pines Positive Reviews (48 Reviews, reviews below)
Alynda Wheat, People: MODERATE(cg) "...pretentious prattle... Bradley Cooper struggles to give Avery as much depth as Ryan Gosling finds in Luke, but the script won't let him."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 189 words, 03/28/13
Mary Pols, Time: GOOD "...novelistic, earnest... an ambitious effort that tries to be many things. And it is definitely something: a sprawling, engaging study in fathers, sons and sins."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 829 words, 03/29/13
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...it does have some powerful individual moments, but the characters are all so underdeveloped that the whole effort feels like studied posturing."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 678 words, 03/28/13
Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "What a thrill to watch two actors in their prime navigate an ambitiously crafted drama... rivets right to the gut-wrenching climax."(See all of Mara Reinstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 137 words, 03/28/13
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a beast of a movie, an emotional roller coaster that threatens to go off the rails, and does. But Cianfrance takes you on a hell of a ride."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 383 words, 03/29/13
Claudia Puig, USA Today: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...riveting... gorgeously photographed, wisely crafted... fuses an insightful study of masculinity, ambition and fatherhood with a stylishly made crime thriller..."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 574 words, 03/29/13
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: POOR(cg) "...stridently earnest... the film's determination to tell great truths is swallowed up by the self-absorption of the men behind the camera."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 569 words, 03/27/13
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD(cg) "Strong acting, at least during the first two acts, strengthens the film's foundation and makes it easier to accept the somewhat jarring change of main character..."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 891 words, 03/28/13
S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's not an easy movie to watch. But it's powerful, and Derek Cianfrance has a knack for setting the mood. And his scenes build up the tension so well.... Age 16."(See all of S. Jhoanna Robledo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 463 words, 03/25/13
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...a triumph of sympathetic imagination and a failure of narrative economy.... a little like its anguished protagonists, going wrong in the name of vanity and love."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 851 words, 03/29/13
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "This emotionally ambitious mess has faults to spare, but there's also something fuzzily honest about it.... it's buoyed by an integrity that slowly comes into focus."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 456 words, 03/29/13
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...intimate in its telling, sweeping in its issues and stumbles only occasionally.... it does give us the sort of down-market lives we too rarely see..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 864 words, 03/29/13
Kyle Smith, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Cianfrance, like P.T. Anderson, makes the camera roam and soar... a film of a master craftsman, a director who can imbue the ordinary with poetry."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 643 words, 03/29/13
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...fully felt and moving.... You watch what happens, often dreading the worst. Even when the worst comes, though, it comes with honor and a kind of grace."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 532 words, 04/05/13
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "This is daring storytelling... [but] it simply doesn't hang together.... For such a well-crafted and wonderfully acted film, it ultimately elicits a shrug."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 312 words, 04/12/13
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: FAIR "...an adrenalized Greek tragedy.... so sketchily written that the big moments feel less like recognizable human behavior than recognizable screenwriter overreaching."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 722 words, 03/25/13
Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a self-confident, self-aware, almost cocky piece of filmmaking from the immensely gifted Derek Cianfrance.... earns every second of its 140-minute running time."(See all of Richard Roeper's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 745 words, 04/05/13
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...has a go-for-broke, everything-I-ever-wanted-to-put-into-a-movie quality to it... while the acting is excellent, the metaphors are heavy, the plotting thin and repetitive."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 201 words, 03/27/13
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "Cianfrance and his sterling cast keep it all together, vanquishing doubt and soap suds. There's a palpable sense of teamwork that brings out the best in all the players."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 553 words, 04/12/13
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the whole is much less than the sum of its parts. So our patience is getting tried even as the story jumps to '15 Years Later'..."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 629 words, 04/12/13
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "There's a moral of sorts, and a few thoughts on the cyclical nature of violence, but Cianfrance takes his sweet time getting to them."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 165 words, 04/11/13
KEY CITIES (12 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...ambitious, unwieldy.... the sum of some admittedly imperfect parts, the movie still manages to cast its own haunting, sorrowful spell."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 614 words, 04/05/13
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a roaring drama that combines the gritty intimacy of a B-movie noir and the outsized ambition of a multigenerational Hollywood saga... it hits you hard."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 543 words, 04/12/13
Kristin Tillotson, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...the film easily could have sprawled out of control into a predictable epic. But it holds enough intimacy -- and surprise -- to satisfy."(See all of Kristin Tillotson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 431 words, 04/05/13
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: VERY GOOD(cg) "...if you've got the endurance, Gosling and Cooper hold the screen as potentially good men whose choices doom them, no matter how long it takes to play out."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 693 words, 04/05/13
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...great to look at (Sean Bobbitt shot it), and the scenes with Gosling burn with a loss too powerful for words. Maybe that's the problem."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 773 words, 04/05/13
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...its ambitions -- even its unrealized ones -- are a great part of its power. Perhaps the film is too big for its own good..."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 671 words, 03/29/13
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...ambitious and successful... captures a mood.... its meaning is elusive but poetic... the film features strong performances by Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 53 words, 04/05/13
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...loses its own way a bit.... But it ends on the right note for this thoughtful and often powerful film: a journey west, a slow fade into a new beginning."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 480 words, 04/05/13
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the acting is first-rate.... Gosling and Cooper's performances, and Cianfrance's flawed but fascinating vision, are enough to make this an exciting destination."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 294 words, 04/12/13
Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Mendes, Ray Liotta as a corrupt detective and Harris Yulin as Avery's father are better than they've been in years.... has an unpretentious power that sneaks up on viewers..."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 362 words, 04/11/13
Tom Long, Detroit News: VERY GOOD(cg) "The film never veers anywhere near being bad; it's just that it starts out looking great and then doesn't quite follow through.... it's at its best when Gosling's on screen."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 318 words, 04/12/13
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "...no amount of good acting or beautiful cinematography (shot by Sean Bobbitt) can rescue a movie that is this belabored and prolonged... hackneyed and dull..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 500 words, 04/12/13
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (8 Reviews)
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...has a go-for-broke, everything-I-ever-wanted-to-put-into-a-movie quality to it... while the acting is excellent, the metaphors are heavy, the plotting thin and repetitive."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 201 words, 03/27/13
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: EXCELLENT(cg) "The movie is rough but gorgeous, overwrought but also achingly sincere, and so well-acted by its massive ensemble that its three stories combine with remarkable power."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 796 words, 03/27/13
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: VERY GOOD(cg) "...remarkable but overreaching.... It begins as an assured character study and ends as an epic, but it's best before it widens the frame."(See all of Nathan Rabin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 360 words, 03/28/13
Cynthia Fuchs, Pop Matters: MODERATE(cg) "...frustrated faces and burdened shoulders, limited perspectives and closed spaces.... The story represented in these often brilliant images is one you know too well."(See all of Cynthia Fuchs's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 822 words, 04/01/13
Ed Gonzalez, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "...a tone poem about male identity and father-son relationships... crumbles fast and hard beneath the weight of its ridiculously relentless sense of self-importance."(See all of Ed Gonzalez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 688 words, 03/15/13
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "There's a moral of sorts, and a few thoughts on the cyclical nature of violence, but Cianfrance takes his sweet time getting to them."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 165 words, 04/11/13
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...satisfyingly meandering, as if it's discovering how loose and confounding reality can be as it goes along, like maybe it's mirroring the experience of actually living."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 833 words, 04/09/13
HIGHBROW PRESS (7 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "One-third wonderful.... For the most part, though, this is self-serious stuff, seething with ambition but almost devoid of spontaneity, and ultimately drained of energy."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 588 words, 03/29/13
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...a triumph of sympathetic imagination and a failure of narrative economy.... a little like its anguished protagonists, going wrong in the name of vanity and love."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 851 words, 03/29/13
David Denby, New Yorker: FAIR "...earnest, broodingly ambitious.... a lot of the character details are fuzzy, or approximate, or just missing... leaves you grasping for the experience you haven't had."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 810 words, 03/25/13
Mark Jenkins, NPR: MODERATE "...too much of this seething drama is devoted not to characterization but to posturing.... the script fails to negotiate the turn from Luke to Avery."(See all of Mark Jenkins's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 585 words, 03/28/13
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...intimate in its telling, sweeping in its issues and stumbles only occasionally.... it does give us the sort of down-market lives we too rarely see..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 864 words, 03/29/13
Dana Stevens, Slate: GOOD "Cianfrance is capable of coaxing tremendous moments from actors... as this over-laden but never boring movie shows, he's willing to operate from a place of risk."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 880 words, 03/28/13
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: VERY GOOD "...seeks to combine the spirits of Charles Dickens and Bruce Springsteen... there's no mistaking the immense ambition and tremendous craftsmanship..."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,094 words, 03/27/13
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Variety: FAIR "...overlong and under-conceived... without subplots or any clear sense of forward momentum, the film feels relatively meager in its insights."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 574 words, 09/08/12
David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "...packs moments of searing power.... Its weakness is that while the events follow in plot terms, they don't achieve the smoothest flow... changes course too radically..."(See all of David Rooney's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 675 words, 09/08/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...intimate in its telling, sweeping in its issues and stumbles only occasionally.... it does give us the sort of down-market lives we too rarely see..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 864 words, 03/29/13
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: MODERATE(cg) "...the subject might have been more suitable for a mini-series or a novel rather than a single feature.... suffers from an overly serious, earnest tone, lacking irony and subtlety."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 521 words, 04/01/13
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...a triumph of sympathetic imagination and a failure of narrative economy.... a little like its anguished protagonists, going wrong in the name of vanity and love."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 851 words, 03/29/13
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "One-third wonderful.... For the most part, though, this is self-serious stuff, seething with ambition but almost devoid of spontaneity, and ultimately drained of energy."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 588 words, 03/29/13
20.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Place Beyond the Pines's reviews are separated by an average 20.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Place Beyond the Pines (48 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Place Beyond the Pines's reviews cover 97.1% of potential readers (average is 68.0%). Volume:The film's reviews total 27,101 words involume (average is 20,220 words). Length:The film's reviews average 565 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Place Beyond the Pines Coverage, Volume & Length (48 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 34.4 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.3 Release)
The Place Beyond the Pines's reviews on average broke 34.4 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.3 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Place Beyond the Pines's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Place Beyond the Pines (48 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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