4. The Place Beyond The Pines
The bank hits in The Place Beyond The Pines are perhaps some of the most simple to have ever appeared in a movie. But that is not to say the method is ineffective, nor the dramatic tension decreased in any way. If anything, following one desperate man into a bank with no plan other than to get as much cash as possible, before flying out of there on a motorcycle, into the back of a waiting haulage truck and hoping you can do all this quicker than the police respond is far more intense than watching an organised gang do it. These robberies are very character-driven. Ryan Goslings performance in the first half of this film is what makes the scenes, particularly the first one, so exciting. Hes nervous, his voice cracks, he does not really know what to expect and youre in there with him, feeling everything. Not condoning his actions but understanding he is just trying to raise enough money to give his family a good life and secretly rooting for him to pull it off. When he gets away from his first score, he throws up in the truck. A human reaction to the adrenaline hes feeling and an emotional response to the wrong he has just committed. And we almost do it with him. You almost cannot fail to find it that engaging.