La La Land and the 10 best Ryan Gosling movies ever
By Wesley Lara
9. The Place Beyond the Pines
Original Release Date: March 29, 2013
Box Office: Although the film wasn’t a rousing success, it did post comparatively modest numbers at about $47 million, easily surpassing its small budget of $15 million.
Critical Acclaim: Once again, the film survived mainly on its high critical reception, maintaining an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes and garnering acclaim for the performances of the main cast, Ryan Gosling especially.
About the Role: Gosling plays Luke Glanton, a motorcycle stuntman who discovers that his ex-lover-turned-girlfriend again birthed his child during their break, prompting him to rob banks with his employer as a means to take care of them.
Simply the Best: Sometimes, the shorter the role, the more impact you may have on the story as a whole. Mahershala Ali experienced that with Moonlight and Ryan Gosling felt that with his stunning supporting performance in The Place Beyond the Pines, a film whose story expands over a full decade with the waves from Gosling’s Lance felt throughout the film, regardless of his presence or not.
The film is essentially a two-in-one deal, letting the viewers experience the saga surrounding the events of Lance’s involvement with bank robberies and how it comes to affect those involved with the cases. Lance is not perfect by any means, but his complex characterization is suited for Gosling’s own acting style, inhabiting the life of a man trying to do right by muddying his own morals in the process. It’s a heavy film and one that may affect viewers with their own fatherly issues, but it’s one that should not go unseen in Gosling’s filmography.