One of the great mysteries in life is the concept of “destiny.” Are we destined to be someone, or does our surroundings influence that end result. Do our actions or decisions alter our lives, or is the path pre-determined. Through a three-act story, director Derek Cianfrance is able to deconstruct this mystery by examining the relationship between fathers and sons in the film “The Place Beyond the Pines.” Starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Emory Cohen, and Dane Dehaan, the film opens up with Gosling’s character Luke walking at a carnival. His job is to ride a motorcycle at carnivals across the country. Immediately, the audience can tell what type of guy Luke is. Luke doesn’t seem to care about anyone but himself, but more importantly, he has no purpose in life. He is going across the country, having meaningless flings, doing the only thing he knows for sure that he is good at. Riding a motorcycle. Along comes Eva Mendes’ character, Romina. Over a year ago, Luke and Romina had a fling before he left town and never called again. He runs into her at the carnival, as she says she wanted to check in on him. He gives her a ride home, but she shuts down an advance that Luke makes, claiming she is seeing someone. Luke returns a few nights later to have Romina’s mother answer the door, with a baby in hand. Turns out it is Luke’s son, Jason. Luke is shocked by the overwhelming feelings that have come over him. For the first time in his life, he has a purpose. He grew up without a father, and he does not want to make that same mistake with his child. Luke visits Romina at the local diner, where she works, and confronts her about not telling him. Luke, in this conversation, clearly demonstrates that he is willing to do whatever it takes to be a part of Jason’s life. He has no money, he has no job, but he is determined to provide. So he turns to the only thing he can, robbing banks. With the help of his friend Robin, they start to rob banks around town, where he uses his incredible abilities as a driver to get away from the scene in an orderly fashion. He then uses the money to try and provide for Jason. He buys a crib, toys, whatever he thinks will prove that he deserves to be in Jason’s life. He just doesn’t want to make the same mistake as his father. One day, Luke is building a crib inside Romina and her boyfriend Kofi’s house without the two present. When the two arrive, Kofi demands that Luke leaves. Luke freaks out and hits Kofi in the eye with a crane, resulting in jail time and a restraining order. At this point, Luke’s life is spiraling out of control. He is asking Robin to amp up the bank robberies, because in his eyes, the only purpose he holds in life is providing for Jason. If he can’t do that, he has nothing. He will rob a million banks if it means he does something. Robin tells Luke that he wants out, saying the amazing line “if you ride like lightning, you will crash like thunder”, essentially explaining the current path Luke is on if he continues to play with fire. Luke just decides to do the robberies himself. But this time, Luke is sloppy, due to the fact that he is falling apart. He lost his family, his only friend, and he is desperately grasping onto his last bit of hope. His final robbery ends in a cop chase, where he is in a random house holding a family hostage while the police officer is waiting outside. Luke, finally realizing what he was doing is wrong, releases the hostages and waits for the police officer, Bradley Cooper’s Avery Cross, to come arrest him. He calls Romina, telling her to not tell their child about him. Avery breaks into the room, and gets trigger happy, shooting Luke. Luke is able to get a shot off back, before falling through the window and to his death. As an audience, this is shocking. The main character of the movie is dead within the first hour of the film. The first act of the film is over, leaving Jason in the same position Luke was in as a kid. Fatherless. The second act then starts with Avery waking up in the hospital, with his wife and baby, as well as his father, who is a legend in the police force, by his side. Everyone is proclaiming Avery a hero, although he doesn’t feel that way. Only he knows he shot first. He lied to the detectives that Luke shot first, and that guilt is eating Avery alive. He cannot even look at his child, as his child AJ reminds him of the fact that he took a person’s life and left a child fatherless. He is being given a medal of honor, as well as being a hero in the eyes of the public, but deep down Avery knows he is no hero. One night, some cop buddies show up at Avery’s house and take him out for a ride along. They show up at Romina’s house, and steal the money that Luke left for Jason. They claim to be taking it for “evidence”, but in reality they are pocketing the money. This guilt is eating Avery alive. He already feels awful about killing Luke, but now he is stealing the one thing he left his child. He then goes to talk to his father about the situation. His father gives him advice, but Avery dismisses it, as he claims that he is not the “election type” like his father, rather he would like to live a simple life. He eventually comes clean to the guy who runs the police force, only to get kicked out for trying to “snitch”. Desperate, Avery sets up one of his friends, and blackmails the police force to promote him to assistant district attorney, as he accumulated evidence that shows major corruption within the police force. Avery gains his power, as well as showcasing the lengths he will go to achieve power. The entire case is publicized, again showcasing Avery as the hero, although this time, he is starting to believe it. We start act three with a 15 year time jump. The act starts with Avery giving a speech at his father’s funeral. He is using this opportunity to boast about his upcoming campaign as Attorney General. Immediately, the audience sees the type of guy Avery has become. He only cares about public appearance, he wants nothing to do with his kid, and he has transformed from a guy who wants a simple life, to a divorced politician who has no time for his family and only cares about winning the “election”. Essentially, he has turned into his dad. But here comes the twist. AJ, Avery’s son, has decided to move and stay with his dad. He is attending a new school, and on the first day in lunch, he decides to sit at some random table. The kid sitting across from him? Jason, Luke’s child. Jason has no idea who Luke is, or the fact that Avery shot and killed Luke. They immediately hit it off, as they ditch class to smoke pot. They then get arrested for possession of drugs. Avery marches down to the station, only to see the kid his son is hanging out with is no one other than Luke’s son. Immediately, Avery feels an overwhelming amount of guilt. In his eyes, this kid is in this position because he had no father, and Avery was the one who took that from him. Avery throws AJ against the wall and demands AJ stays away from Jason. But AJ ignores his dad and continues to badger Jason, convincing him to come to his party and to bring more drugs. Jason shows up to the party, and gets absolutely wasted. As he was stumbling up the stairs with some girl, Jason notices a picture hung on the wall. Earlier in the film, Kofi told Jason the name of his dad. Jason did some research, finding all about his past as a biker and how Avery Cross was a hero for shooting his dad. Jason sees this picture of Avery, and he absolutely loses it. He confronts AJ, who then beats him up so badly he ends up in the hospital. Jason then returns to AJ’s house with a gun, knocking him out and taking Avery out to the woods at gunpoint. Jason then demands that Avery gives him his wallet. With a gun held at his head, Avery breaks down and apologizes. He stops burying the guilt that has overtaken him. He repeatedly says “I’m so sorry, Jason.” Jason proceeds to run away, opening Avery’s wallet to see the picture of him as a baby with his real parents. The movie concludes with Jason running away with nothing but a motorcycle and some cash, and Avery winning his election for Attorney General. When I first saw this film, I was absolutely floored. The idea that we don’t have control over who we become is one that is terrifying. In the end, Jason just ends up becoming his father, as does Avery, and probably in the future AJ will become like Avery. The main takeaway I had was this: The environment one grows up in directly affects the type of person one becomes. Jason became like Luke because of Luke’s mistakes, leaving him fatherless. Avery became like his dad because his dad was never there for him emotionally, and AJ will unfortunately suffer the same fate.  They are in a relentless cycle of being stuck “Beyond the pines” an area where one is stuck with the destiny created by their environment.