14. The Place Beyond The Pines
There's no denying that this strange, inherently uncomfortable crime saga walks the fine line between beautiful and bombastic during each and every minute of its runtime, but it's almost impossible to deny its clinging power, too. The Place Beyond The Pines, which - going by the trailer, you'd never know - chronicles two generations of father and son (the fathers are Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper; the sons, Dane DeHaan and Emory Cohen) looks to explore the relationships we share with the people who precede us, and how their lives affect our own. For those who thought that writer/director Derek Cianfrance's follow-up to the brilliant Blue Valentine (also starring Ryan Gosling) was to be a movie along the lines of Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive were presumably shocked to find that Gosling's part here is relatively small, and there's barely an action scene in sight. Instead, we're dropped into a deep, broody story that often threatens to explode under its own weight, but manages to pull through as an engrossing, emotionally-affecting and gripping story about legacy, morality and the bonds of family.