Yes, it’s over two hours long, and “The Place Beyond The Pines” is a sprawling saga set over a few decades. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t instantly gripping, and director Derek Cianfrance plunks the audience right into the world of stunt riding Luke, played by a tattooed Ryan Gosling rocking bleached hair, with an opening shot as immediately captivating as it was dangerous to shoot (it nearly killed the DP). If you’re waiting for the movie, now playing in limited release, to come near you, here’s an early peek at the great sequence which sets the movie in motion to hold you over.
For one thing, the movie doesn’t show us Luke’s face right away. Instead we’re greeted with an inked up torso and hand working over a butterfly knife, before we follow the Metallica t-shirt wearing man (from behind, with a clear influence from the Dardenne brothers) through the sights and sounds of a fairground, until he gets on a motorcycle and rides into the cage of death. The preview clip cuts out just before we see the crazy cyclist stunts. DP Sean Bobbitt initially got right into the cage to capture the stunts…only for one of the takes to end with him on the ground, and a pile of motorbikes on top of him.
It’s a great story (read it here) and the scene itself is pretty dazzling. Give it a watch below and after that, check out the trailer with commentary from Cianfrance. “The Place Beyond The Pines” goes wide on April 12th. [via Bleeding Cool]