Over the years, actor Ryan Gosling has shown off a split personality to movie goers around the world. To the mainstream, he's the suave lover in Jacob Palmer in "Crazy, Stupid Love" and the slick Sergeant Jerry Wooters in "Gangster Squad." However, his gritty, raw, and intensely emotional side has been exposed to a smaller crowd in such rousing independent hits as "Drive," "Half Nelson," and "Blue Valentine." His latest performance in Derek Cianfrance's "The Place Beyond the Pines" tends toward the latter body of work, but to a greater extreme than anything he's portrayed before.
In the ambitious drama, Gosling plays Luke, a rundown motorcycle stuntman who works in a traveling circus. His stunts coupled with his emphatic tattoos (including one on his face) paint the picture of man living on the edge and in constant danger. "He's in a motorcycle version of a boy band in the early 90's doing some low rent carnival circuit. It doesn't get worse than that," Gosling told Latinos Post and other media outlets during a round table discussion in New York a few weeks ago. He added, "He is a melting pot of every masculine cliché: tattoos, muscles, guns. It's a joke."
Luke's life changes the moment he meets his newborn child who he had during a one-night stand with Romina (Eva Mendes). "A mirror is held up to him and he realizes he's not a man at all. None of those things make you a man," Gosling noted about the turning point for Luke.
The character immediately sets out on a perilous journey to prove his worth to Romina and win back his family; part of his plan is to rob banks. "In the same way that he over romanticized himself and created his own mythology he has the same romantic ideas about turning it around and starts robbing banks which is as equally unthought-out as his face tattoo," added Gosling.
From there, the film moves in unpredictable ways with ambitious plot and structural twists.
BE ADVISED PLOT SPOILER AHEAD
One of major twists is that Gosling's character gets killed off after about 45 minutes. "I never felt more like Janet Leigh in my life," Gosling joked. Leigh was killed off approximately 40 minutes into Alfred Hitchcock's memorable masterpiece "Psycho."
"Pines" marks the second time that Gosling works with American director Derek Cianfrance; the two previously collaborated on "Blue Valentine." Gosling explained that he met Cianfrance after hearing many people tell him that the director looked similar to him. The two eventually met and Cianfrance pitched the idea of working on "Valentine" together. "I just feel very lucky to have met him and to have worked with him," stated Gosling.
Despite enjoying his work with Cianfrance, Gosling noted that the director made him feel a tremendous amount of shame during the filming process. During preparations, Gosling had asked to give Luke tattoos, including the tear image on his face. Cianfrance agreed to the suggestion, but when Gosling saw it, he felt that something wasn't right. "When I did the face tattoo, it was too much. It was overkill."
However, when he went to ask his director to have it removed, Cianfrance responded with "This movie's about consequences and now you have to pay the price."
For the remainder of the shoot, Gosling admitted that he would not have any pictures taken and that he had a hard time looking at himself in the mirror because of the "shame" he felt of having that tattoo on his face.
After "Pines" Gosling will be seen in "Only God Forgives," his latest collaboration with director Nicholas Winding Refn. Winding Refn's previous film "Drive" was noted for its extreme depictions of violence, but Gosling revealed that "Only God Forgives" would be "way more extreme."
Aside from promoting "Pines" and "Only God Forgives" Gosling noted that he's also focusing on his directorial debut in the film "How to Catch a Monster." The film will be headlined by Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement"), Christina Hendrix ("Mad Men"), Ben Mendelssohn ("The Place Beyond the Pines"), Eva Mendes ("The Place Beyond the Pines"), and Matt Smith ("Doctor Who").
Gosling wasn't sure about the direction of the film as of yet, but he clarified that he had no intention of adhering to any particular style that he has picked up from working with such directors as Terrence Malick, Cianfrance, or Nicholas Winding Refn amongst others.
"It's not just a style that you can adopt," he explained. "They have a vision and a strong point of view. They have a filter through by which they send everything through and it's unique to each of them."
As the round table drew to a close, the actor was asked about his acting career and whether he envisioned himself as a working thespian for the rest of his life. The actor recently stated that in an interview with the Associated Press that he wanted to take a break from acting to "reassess" what the direction of his career. However, during the round table, his response was filled with a bit more levity and ambiguity. "I don't know," he answered. "They're making coloring books out of me. It's gotta be over."
"The Place Beyond the Pines" hits theaters on Friday March 29, 2013.
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