Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine is a painful analysis of a marriage that begins on a cloud of pure romantic love, only to collapse miserably six years later. Dean (Ryan Gosling), the blue-collar husband incapable of changing or comprehending why everything has gone wrong.

 The wife Cindy (Michelle Williams), who once dreamt of becoming a doctor, finds herself barely able to be in the same room with her husband.

Blue Valentine is a love story about falling out of love, following the marriage of Dean and Cindy as they move through critical highs and lows: the first moment they fall in love, and the realization that comes when everything is over and there's no chance of recovery. This is an extremely painful film to watch. It's the joyful promising beginnings and the sad irrevocable ending.

The story begins in the present and through flashes, the audience get to see the way they were. We draw comparisons and analyze the differences, the same way people do when they remember a failed relationship. There were so many wonderful moments. Where did it go wrong?

Dean makes the best effort he knows how to save their marriage: he books them into a seedy fantasy motel which Cindy obviously doesn't want to go. The audience can feel her frustrations, crying behind closed doors. They both drink until they can't stand up anymore and they both fell on the floor. Dean tries to revive the passion in his wife by trying to make love. But the passion in Cindy has long been gone.

Blue Valentine is a great movie with defining raw performances from two brilliant young actors, who carried the weight of a heavy drama on their shoulders like the real pros they both are. Their relationship looks and feels so real. What is so impressive is the dual performances of the actors, who seem like entirely different people as the film flashes from the past to the present and back. They go through both physical and emotional transformations during the six year period of the film: Williams from shy and adorable to sad, sullen and 15 pounds heavier, and Gosling from charming young lad full of life to bland father beaten down by life with a receding hairline.

If you want to see a movie that is entertaining, do not see this movie - this movie is painful to watch. Also, do not see this movie if your relationship is going downhill, it might hasten the fall. If you want to see two outstanding actors deliver unforgettable performances and the sheer genius of a brilliant director, then go see Blue Valentine. You will love this movie.

Gosling and Williams are just brilliant here. They both flesh out these characters in incredibly compelling-yet-realistic ways. They make Dean and Cindy characters who are both relatable and interesting on their own. This, of course, makes their clashing all the more painful to watch.


The movie was a different kind of love story.