The movie features Ryan Gosling as Luke. And after last seeing Gosling in Drive, I was expecting something similar. This time he is a motorcycle stuntman who finds out that he has a newborn child with his ex-girlfriend in one of the towns the circus passes through. He decides to stay and turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for their child. But it wasn’t so simple since his ex-girlfriend is already with another man, Kofi. Then he got shot and killed by Avery (Bradley Cooper) and that’s that for Gosling. Quite a surprise really.
The story is then picked up by Avery who is a rookie cop and a new father himself. The shooting elevated him to something of a local hero. This and his idealism eventually got him into conflict with the corrupt cops in the police department. He then leveraged the situation to become the district attorney and eventually a candidate for attorney general.
Then the story shifts to Avery’s and Luke’s sons who are now teenagers and studying in the same school. There’s the irony that Luke’s son had a father in his mom’s husband (Kofi). While Avery’s son didn’t since Avery got divorced and was very busy with his career. The two became friends, then enemies when Luke’s son realized who his friend’s father is. The story culminates in a confrontation in a place beyond the pines :P and with Luke’s son following his father’s tracks. Motorcycle tracks, that is.
Good watch. Almost like reading a good book.