BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
I didn’t know much about this movie. I hadn’t even seen the trailer before watching this movie. I saw that it was from the guy who did ‘Blue Valentine’ and it stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, and Ray Liotta. Solid stats, right? Then the icing on this proverbial cake is that the awesome Mike Patton does the music. Those are ingredients of rocktastic proportions. The plot revolves around three main stories. Each story is interlinked, but it’s not trying to trick you about it with clichés and ‘Crash’-like twists. Ryan Gosling is a carny. He rides a motorcycle in a big circle. If you’ve seen ‘The Simpsons’ movie then you know what I’m trying to describe. Gosling’s character has had a rough life, but on this particular day he meets up with a former love interest in the beautiful Eva Mendes. Their history is brought back in a big way. He then finds himself with his back against the wall and desperate. Meanwhile, Bradley Cooper is a clean cut, nice guy cop. In the midst of this deeply rooted story, everyone’s lives get crossed up. The main recurring theme seems to be getting to see the cause and effect of everything that happens. I went into this movie not really knowing what to expect and I couldn’t have been happier with the experience. You watch movies and expect a certain storytelling style. When the traditional style is abandoned it’s always interesting to see how the writer and filmmaker will handle it. In this movie, it works. What happens is unexpected, but you don’t miss a beat. Before you know it, it all makes perfect sense and ties together one HUGE story. The tone and narrative could be critiqued, but I appreciated it. There was a cautious dryness to a lot of it. The direction is great, the acting is spot on, and the viewing experience was enthralling. It’s not a movie I’ll rewatch a million times or buy a poster of, but I’d have no problem with fully recommending it. A-
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