‘The Place Beyond The Pines’: Eva Mendes’ most defining role
A staple of Hollywood at the turn of the new millennium, at one point, the American actor Eva Mendes was one of the industry’s most promising talents, charming the silver screen with a number of high-profile roles and arthouse appearances. Decades later, and whilst Mendes is no longer under the Hollywood spotlight, her influence remains potent, having a hand in crafting some of the early century’s finest movies.
Rising to popularity at the end of the 1990s alongside a cohort of other burgeoning stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Winona Ryder and Julia Roberts, Mendes admitted to taking on a number of awful projects before the Oscar-winner Training Day came around in 2001. Appearing alongside Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, Mendes gained considerable subsequent success for her supporting role, demonstrating all the gusto and dynamism she needed for Hollywood to sit up and take notice.
Collaborations with the likes of Robert Rodriguez, Werner Herzog and Leos Carax came in the following decade, as well as chances to step into the world of Marvel and the Fast and Furious franchise, but nothing truly stuck commercially or critically. Indeed, one of the actor’s only considerable cinematic triumphs was 2012’s The Place Beyond the Pines, an indie hit that showcased the true range of her talents for one of the very first times on screen.
Helmed by the indie filmmaking darling Derek Cianfrance, The Place Beyond the Pines starred Ryan Gosling as a stunt bike rider who takes to robbing banks to provide for his ex-girlfriend and their newborn child, who he has only recently learned about. Aptly capitalised on the success of the 2011 hit Drive, also starring Gosling, Cianfrance’s film shared a bizarre number of similarities, particularly in its gruff, gritty style.
Rising to the enthusiasm and dedication of Gosling in the lead role, Mendes plays the tough, self-sufficient ex-girlfriend, Romina, the only emotional lifeline to the protagonist, Luke. Showing off her dramatic range, Mendes’ performance often gets overshadowed by Gosling, yet, arguably, the tenderness she gives to her emotional outbursts is more impressive, seeming almost profound in her delivery.
Away from the main story regarding stuntman Luke and his fading relationship with Romina and his son, The Place Beyond the Pines focuses on another father-son narrative strand, focusing on the prized police officer tasked with taking down the desperate robber. Where Gosling and Bradley Cooper, who plays said officer, represent the sanctity of masculine efforts to father, more should be said of Mendes’ role as the rugged mother, who is very capable of supporting her child without Luke’s influence.
Yet, what’s most impressive is the sadness of her character and performance, which flows through the scene even when she isn’t talking at all. When, just for a moment, at the start of the film, she is together with Luke again, raising their child, there is a longing in her eyes and a solemn acceptance of the ephemerality of the moment. Take her magnificent, silent performance when someone takes a photo of her, Luke and their child. She begins to cry, fidget and smile through the pain.
The power of Cianfrances’ lyrical film is, indeed, far too often forgotten, and Mendes’ performance, too, slips from regular discourse despite it being key to understanding this tense, complex and emotionally wrought gem.
