This may be my favorite film of 2012.
I started it flat on my back in bed, and by the end of the first shot I was sitting up on the edge of the mattress, leaning forward to the screen.
Derek Cianfrance is a phenomenal writer-directer (Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines, The Light Between Oceans, more). He has a history in sports and documentary, which gives his films an inspiring sense of confident, controlled, sharp as a tack recklessness. Maybe it's better said -- he isn't afraid to shoot a narrative with a doc style. He is not afraid to play a scene "real."
In an interview I saw of his once he said he doesn't want his films to be "cool." He said something like, "Cool is close to cold, and cold is like death." His honesty, his care for human connection, and his interest in it, in the reality of it, that is part of what grabs me.
This film is about legacy. About fathers and sons and more. See it or see it again. There is a ridiculous motorcycle chase scene that is shot in a "COPS" style, amongst many other great moments.
Also, check out his Dick's Sporting Goods commercials. They are sollllid. Notice how many edits there AREN'T.
