Derek Cianfrance, who brought us 2010’s beautifully tragic Blue Valentine, again explores the seamy edges of family dysfunction with  The Place Beyond the Pines which premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Only this time, he shifts the train of his focus from that of a marriage’s heartbreaking destruction to one of an unbreakable bond between father and son.

Told in triptych structure, the three distinct parts of Cianfrance’s multi-generational story of ancestral lineage are appropriately threaded together in linear form, one part handing off to the next, rather than cross-cutting with flashbacks and time shifts. It’s a difficult technique to pull off successfully (the first casualty usually being consistent pacing), but we marvel at the seamlessness with which Cianfrance transitions his segments, and as a result, our anxiety of anticipating the story’s next move is heightened. There’s no security of a cushioning flashback to lessen the impact when bad things happen to the characters.

Gosling turns in yet another tour de force performance, this time as a roadside carnival motorcycle stunt rider who, by the pain on his face and the danger of his profession, appears to be a walking contradiction -- wounded and marred on the inside, but sporting an impenetrable suit of armor on the outside. As the traveling show makes its way back through Schenectady, New York, Luke hooks up with old flame Romina (Eva Mendes), who has his year-old son he knew nothing about. The moment Luke sees this child, his life is changed forever. He suddenly has a purpose and his life a meaning. But with no real parenting skills, he teams with a partner-in-crime (Ben Mendelsohn) to rob banks in support of his family.

Their first heist come across as a brilliant little piece of filmmaking, one that bathes the remainder of the movie in a pervading sense of doom and atmospheric tension. We learn a lot about the complexity of Luke’s character -- his heartwarming instinct of wanting to do the right thing for his child countered by a dangerously cold-blooded unpredictability -- as he takes over the bank before eventually escaping on his motorcycle. Visually, the robbery scene resembles the raw, voyeuristic reality and train wreck allure of an episode of Cops or Wildest Police Videos with no cuts and minimal editing. But the film’s subdued yet distinctive score -- by Mr. Bungle’s Mike Patton - counters the hectic proceedings with a haunting quality that carries nicely throughout the film.

Luke’s segment of the story isn’t quite concluded when we meet law school drop-out, now young rookie cop, Avery (Bradley  Cooper), who makes a tragic mistake while on duty that unleashes an appalling shame upon his character. His overwhelming guilt creates a gulf in the relationship with his wife and young child and also puts him at odds with growing corruption in the police force at work. This middle portion plays out in a more conventional manner, but it’s deftly handled as a nice transition piece that sets up the concluding third of the film, anchored by Dane DeHaan, in which Cianfrance widens out with grand themes of self-reinvention and examinations of the nature of masculine identity.

Those familiar with Blue Valentine -- or even the earlier Brother Tied - - will have a good idea of the power of Cianfrance’s unflinching storytelling style and the effect it sways the way we watch his work. His films are dense in rich themes and expertly laid allegories, yet are always highly watchable with brilliant performances. That’s not to say you’ll ever be completely at ease watching The Place Beyond the Pines. In fact, its main accomplishment comes from the challenging discomfort it provides the audience.

(Released by Focus Features and rated "R" by MPAA.)

Review also posted at www.franksreelreviews.com.