The relationship of two people on display,
cross-cutting between time periods. DRAMA
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Blue Valentine (2010)Directed by Derek Cianfrance
Written by Derek Cianfrance, Joey Curtis, Cami Delavigne Starring Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Faith Wladyka, John Doman, Mike Vogel, Ben Shenkman Oscar Nominations - Best Actress (Michelle Williams) |
Not a lot of movies showcase a relationship in this way. Watching two people fall in love then fall out of love is visceral and real, and thanks to Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, I believed every second of it. This raw, emotional lesson in crafting realistic drama is known to a lot of people as being that incredibly sad movie with a notable, heavy sex scene that nearly got the film an NC-17 rating. But the final product is so much more than that. You can feel the personal touches that bring out so much in Gosling and Williams's performances.
Blue Valentine is unique in its composition. We follow Dean (Gosling) and Cindy (Williams) as they meet, fall in love, and end up trapped in a disintegrating, loveless marriage. It's all out of sequence too, so Cianfrance can pepper the sadness with flakes of happy from time to time. The crux of it all? They're both kind of bad people. Dean is a selfish man-child and Cindy resents him for ruining her life, even though she chose him and a family over the abortion she nearly went through with. It's hard to root for two characters who hold zero accountability for their situation. Still, and I can't stress this enough, the performances are fantastic. Don't watch this movie if you're depressed or in an otherwise sad mood. All it will do is bum you out even further. It's a great character study, especially when you learn that most of it is improvised to develop real chemistry. You end up watching these two just kind of go through the motions, and in the end, it's hard to take a side. |
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams provide performances that will never be forgotten. The closeness in which the camera operates causes us to clench our armrests as we watch their relationship blossom and then come up against obstacles that are life-altering. This is the second of four feature films that Derek Cianfrance has both written and directed with a rawness that has given him his own unique style.
I think most Cianfrance fans would all agree that Blue Valentine is his best work. Dean (Gosling) is a high school dropout with a very average job, who meets Cindy (Williams), a young girl with aspirations in the field of medicine. These two go toe to toe in one of the most brutal love stories I’ve ever seen put onto the screen. The plot is their life, and we are there to see the tragedy unfold. The potential... Whatever that means. |