With high-speed chases and a plot that spans generations, "The Place Beyond the Pines" is a complex undertaking that shows how two sons -- law-breaking Ryan Gosling and law-upholding cop Bradley Cooper -- are affected by the actions of their absent fathers.

Gosling plays Luke, a stunt bike driver-turned-bank robber, and one of the biggest action scenes in the film is a continuous take that ends with Luke zooming around a cage on his bike. Gosling said director Derek Cianfrance had some interesting inspiration for the sequence and the rest of the film.

"It was a real challenge for Derek, you know, multiple timeframes, so many more actors tackling action in a unique way," he said. "A big reference for him was 'COPS,' and so everything, all the action had to play out in one take. Just took a lot of planning."

Cianfrance once directed Gosling in another ambitious, time-spanning film, 2010's "Blue Valentine," which took a look at the long, slow undoing of a once-perfect relationship.

With their filming history, the director and actor became friends, Gosling said, adding praise for his movie-making pal.

"['The Place Beyond The Pines'] was just a very ambitious film on his part, and I was just proud to be his friend and to be a part of it," Gosling added.

The film hits theaters this weekend.

Check out everything we've got on "The Place Beyond the Pines."