History Film / ThePlaceBeyondThePines

It's at this point that the film AGAIN switches protagonists as move ahead about 16 years, as the film now focuses upon Avery Cross and Luke Glanton's children. Avery has divorced his wife and shunned his son, in order to focus on his career, campaigning for Attorney General of New York. Unfortunately, his son AJ has begun to rebel and do drugs, forcing Avery's dad to take him in hopes that he can keep his son out of trouble. AJ befriends Jason, Luke's son who like his dad is a motorcyclist and deeply resentful of his mom and stepdad, who have kept Jason utterly clueless about his biological father's identity. When the truth about their fathers is revealed to Jason, Avery must save his son and stop Jason from self-destructing like his dad did.

** The second act is this in some ways to Film/{{Narc}}.

* BadassBiker: Luke Glanton.

* DeadStarWalking: [[spoiler:Ryan Gosling.]]
* DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler: Luke.]]
* DecoyProtagonist: [[spoiler: Luke dies an hour into the film]].

* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler: Luke.]]

* GoodIsNotNice: Avery is this.

* {{Outlaw}}: Luke is even described as this.

* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Avery.

* TimeSkip: A fifteen-year timeskip.

* NotSoDifferent: Luke and Avery. Avery even realizes this himself [[spoiler: after he kills Luke.]]

** The first act, to ''Film/{{Drive}}'': Both characters were stuntmen who used vehicles as part of their employment, both were taken in and given a job in a low paying mechanic job where they found them selves doing a crooked sideline to make extra cash, they were also pretty soft spoken but had an air of understated charisma, they both ended up in a precarious predicament due to their criminal activity as well as getting angry with their boss/friend.

* YourCheatingHeart: Romina is with Kofi, but still has feelings for Luke and even sleeps with him at one point.

** Dane [=DeHaan=]'s character arc in the third act is somewhat similar to Film/{{Chronicle}}.

* TheAtoner: Avery. [[spoiler: After he kills Luke and unwittingly joins DeLuca and the other dirty cops in taking the stolen money from Romina, his conscience eventually gets the better of him. First, he tries to give his cut of the money back to Romina, but is rejected. Next, he brings the money to his superior, hoping to expose the corruption, only to find that his superior was well aware of the corruption and isn't going to do anything about it. He then suspects his life is in danger, and provides information to the District Attorney that exposes DeLuca and his men in exchange for an Assistant D.A. position.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Avery was elected as the new D.A. with the implications of him and A.J.'s relationship improving in the future. But, Luke decides to leave to parts unknown and sends a letter to his mother with the picture of her, him as a baby, and Luke in front of the ice-cream store.]]

* DeadStarWalking: [[spoiler:Ryan Gosling]]

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Avery, who mostly gets away with shooting (and killing) Luke first.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: Romina is with Kofi, but still has feelings for Luke.

''The Place Beyond the Pines'' is a 2013 crime drama directed by [[Film/BlueValentine Derek Cianfrance]]. RyanGosling plays Luke Glanton, a motorcycle stunt driver in Upstate New York who gives up his carefree life on the state fair circuit after finding out that he fathered a child with a one-night-stand (Creator/EvaMendes). Unfortunately, the child's mother has moved on and started a new relationship, and Luke's desire to become a part of his child's life, and provide financially for him, leads to him embarking on a life of crime, robbing banks and escaping via his motorcycle.

* TheAtoner: Avery. [[spoiler: After he kills Luke and unwittingly joins DeLuca and the other dirty cops in taking the stolen money from Romina, his conscience eventually gets the better of him. First, he tries to give his cut of the money back to Romina, but is rejected. Next, he brings the money to his superior, hoping to expose the corruption, only to find that his superior was well aware of the corruption and isn't going to do anything about it.]]

* FromBadToWorse: Luke's last bank robbery goes wrong in so many ways. [[spoiler: First, Robin dismantles his beloved motorbike, forcing him to buy a newer, less efficient one. As soon as he arrives at the bank, Luke realizes he forgot his sunglasses, leaving the tattoo near his eye exposed. Upon entering the bank, he discovers that there are now tall security barriers between him and the tellers (likely as a result of his previous robberies). Then the tellers keep having trouble tossing the bag of money over the barriers. When he finally gets outside, the bike won't start. By the time it does start, the police arrive and begin chasing him across town. Eventually, Luke gets a flat tire and wipes out, forcing him to invade some poor family's suburban home, where he gets shot and killed before he even has the chance to give himself up.]]

* VillainProtagonist: Luke himself is a motorcycle rider and subsequently, a bank robber who pull off bank heists alongside Robin. [[spoiler:Though he is technically a DecoyProtagonist when he is killed off by Avery.]]

* Didn'tThinkThisThrough: A lot of Luke's problems are a result of his acting on impulse.

''The Place Beyond the Pines'' is a 2013 crime drama directed by [[Film/BlueValentine Derek Cianfrance]]. RyanGosling plays Luke Glanton, a motorcycle stunt driver in Upstate New York who gives up his carefree life on the state fair circuit after finding out that he fathered a child with a one-night-stand (EvaMendes). Unfortunately, the child's mother has moved on and started a new relationship, and Luke's desire to become a part of his child's life, and provide financially for him, leads to him embarking on a life of crime, robbing banks and escaping via his motorcycle.

* ClusterFBomb: Luke speaks almost entirely in shrill obsceneties while robbing banks, showing that he's hardly a pro at this sort of thing.
* DawsonCasting: Emory Cohen (22) and Dane [=DeHaan=] (25) played 16 year old highschoolers.

* TattooedCrook: Luke is covered in tattoos, most notably a creepy dagger dripping blood in the corner of his eye. His bank-robbing outfit is designed to cover up all of his distinguising tattoos.

** Jason, arguably.

Unfortunately for him, a rookie police named Avery Cross (played by Creator/BradleyCooper) shoots and kills Luke after Luke makes one last heist without his partner/mentor. The film then switches protagonists, as we follow Avery Cross as he struggles with the guilt of killing a fellow young father and the wholesale corruption of his local police department. Avery ultimately decides to burn his bridges with the department, exposing his corrupt colleagues and launching a new career for himself, as he becomes a prosecutor for the local DA's office.

** [[spoiler: Well to be fair, compare [[VillainProtagonist Luke]] to [[HeroAntagonist Avery]].]]

* [[spoiler: DecoyProtagonist: Luke dies an hour into the film]].

* [[spoiler: HalfwayPlotSwitch]]: [[spoiler: More like Thirdway Plot Switch, and another at the 2/3rds mark.]]

[[spoiler:Unfortunately for him, a rookie police named Avery Cross (played by Creator/BradleyCooper) shoots and kills Luke after Luke makes one last heist without his partner/mentor. The film then switches protagonists, as we follow Avery Cross as he struggles with the guilt of killing a fellow young father and the wholesale corruption of his local police department. Avery ultimately decides to burn his bridges with the department, exposing his corrupt colleagues and launching a new career for himself, as he becomes a prosecutor for the local DA's office.]]

[[spoiler:It's at this point that the film AGAIN switches protagonists as move ahead about 16 years, as the film now focuses upon Avery Cross and Luke Glanton's children. Avery has divorced his wife and shunned his son, in order to focus on his career, campaigning for Attorney General of New York. Unfortunately, his son AJ has begun to rebel and do drugs, forcing Avery's dad to take him in hopes that he can keep his son out of trouble. AJ befriends Jason, Luke's son who like his dad is a motorcyclist and deeply resentful of his mom and stepdad, who have kept Jason utterly clueless about his biological father's identity. When the truth about their fathers is revealed to Jason, Avery must save his son and stop Jason from self-destructing like his dad did.]]

'''''The Place Beyond the Pines''''' is a 2013 crime drama directed by [[Film/BlueValentine Derek Cianfrance]]. RyanGosling plays Luke Glanton, a motorcycle stunt driver in Upstate New York who gives up his carefree life on the state fair circuit after finding out that he fathered a child with a one-night-stand (EvaMendes). Unfortunately, the child's mother has moved on and started a new relationship, and Luke's desire to become a part of his child's life, and provide financially for him, leads to him embarking on a life of crime, robbing banks and escaping via his motorcycle.

* KnuckleTattoos: Luke has H-A-N-D tattooed onto the knuckles of his right hand.