Other than the Donald Strachey series of movies starring Chad Allen, I've never seen the Capital District of New York State used as a film location before. The Place Beyond The Pines is the story of two men whose fateful meeting one day set in motion a series of events that would ultimately involve their teen sons.

Shot on location in Albany, Schenectady, and several surrounding small towns, this film casts Ryan Gosling as a daredevil carnival motorcycle stunt rider who gives Eva Mendes a bundle of joy in their encounter.

But Gosling is a responsible sort, sort of. He wants to do the right thing for Mendes so he takes up bank robbery where his skill as a rider has him execute some daring getaways. She's got money now to support their kid, but Gosling dares the odds once too often and in a fateful encounter with rookie Schenectady cop Bradley Cooper, he's killed in a shootout.

After that the focus is on Cooper who's ambitious sort, his father is Harris Yulin a Supreme Court judge. He builds from this incident which makes him a decorated hero in a gambit from LA Confidential, he turns on several of his fellow officers who were corrupt in any event and breaks the blue wall of silence.

And in fifteen years as Cooper is embarking on a run for statewide office both his son Emory Cohen and Gosling's son Dane DeHaan go to the same school and it leads to some interesting results.

My only problem with The Place Beyond The Pines is that Gosling's character is so charismatic that the film slackens off, once he's killed off halfway through the movie. Still it's a great story with some riveting performances by players of several generations.

I had no idea what to expect from this, but I'd seen and liked Ryan Gosling in DRIVE so I thought I'd give it a go. And the director has clearly been taking a few pointers from that film, because stylistically it's very similar: slow paced, scenes shot the same way, the same type of music. Hell, even Gosling is playing a similar character, a guy who best communicates through violent action.

The first hour of this film is fantastic: gripping, edge-of-the-seat stuff, with another excellent performance from the star. Then things go in a different direction for the second hour, with the less-interesting Bradley Cooper becoming the focus of the story. This part's still pretty good, if more familiar. It all rounds out again with a third act which ups the suspense to a satisfying climax.

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES is an actor's film, and indeed there are some great performances here: Gosling, an almost unrecognisable Eva Mendes, Ben Mendelsohn, and Dane DeHaan all give very good performances, and it's a treat to see Harris Yulin (SCARFACE) on the screen again. But the technical values and the mature script easily match the calibre of the acting, making this an all-round winner. It's not perfect - some sections are too slow, and some characters just don't hold the interest like others - but fans of DRIVE should like it nonetheless.

Motorcycle stunt rider Luke (Ryan Gosling) quits his carnival job riding the cage. He wants to start a new life with waitress former girlfriend Romina (Eva Mendes) and their son. He starts robbing banks. He tries bring a crib to his kid, but he ends up hitting Romina's boyfriend Kofi. He's on a head on collision with police officer Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper).

It starts slow and doesn't get interesting until around midway. At 140 minutes, it is a very long movie. It's a very slow build into something more poetic. Director Derek Cianfrance tries to create a Greek tragedy. I wish he would trust that the actors could get across the required emotions without a prolong take. I don't need an action thriller, but this movie could be more efficient. The Bradley Cooper part is infinitely more compelling. The slow pacing in that part of the story works much better. Then it jumps 15 years into the future. The slow pacing strikes again. The two teens are well played, but it feels like a third movie. By then, I want this whole thing to explode and wrap up.