Blue Valentine
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, John Doman
Directed By: Derek Clanfrance
***Spoilers***
Dean and Cindy have both come from broken lives. This is the story of them meeting by chance and building a relationship- and simultaneously, this the story of what that relationship becomes during segments of love and harsh times.
There’s no denying that Blue Valentine is a wonderfully made film. The acting is top notch, especially from Gosling. The story is written well and is very believable; it ties your emotions in half, by being told through moments of a once great relationship intertwined with times that send it past the point of repair. Derek Clanfrance directs in a way that makes you live vicariously through his eyes, watching occurrences unfold as if they are past moments in your own life. It is beautiful and brilliant, and it is why I will never be able to watch this movie again.
I think everyone has been in a situation like the one displayed here, or has at least been around one, and it is never pretty or fun. It is like watching two best friends that were once great lovers fall apart, and all the ingredients of destruction are so finely documented. Every little possible thing that could make love go dry and dormant is introduced. So, this isn’t your candy coated PG romance, where there is a tenfold of good times to make up for the all the sad things that happen; this is a depressing reality, showing that even if the good seemingly does outweigh the bad, sometimes it is just too far gone to matter.
Now, the entire movie is not a downer; there are some heartfelt moments that make the characters truly charming. There are also times that will make you go teary-eyed that have nothing to do with the relationship element of the film. In particular, when Dean and Cindy (Gosling and Williams) first meet- it’s not about their first encounter, but moreover what he is doing before their eyes lock.
Dean is working for a moving company in this part of the time-line, and he is moving an elderly man into an assisted living facility. Somehow, you get the feeling that no one is going to come visit this man, and apparently, Dean feels the same way. Once the elderly man enters the small room, Dean, whom has decorated to make him feel at home as possible, greets him. His military uniform is displayed on one wall, while a matchbook collection is taped on another. The old man looks blown away and respected, it is a beautiful moment that is hard to not get choked up over.
It is somewhat difficult to fully like Michelle Williams’ character. However, it is easy to feel bad for her. In some of the flashback sequences, you get to see many awful things that have happened to Cindy. Her ex-boyfriend before Dean is immensely aggravating and foul, and it makes you wonder why someone would stay is such a rotten situation for so long. When she does find a way out, it is delightful, but later on, she become a lot less endearing. Williams is really good, and she and Gosling have great chemistry, but I do think he had a little more to do with his character.
As Cindy is someone set on achieving all of her life goals, Dean is more of a hopeless romantic. Being either type a person is not a bad thing, but sometimes the two don’t mix very well. Gosling’s character has never really grown up, and somewhere along the line has become a heavy drinker. Dean is still however a loving father, but in present time has obviously had some wear and tear. There are no innocent hearts being broken in this story, both people are guilty in their own way; Dean just seems more compassionate. Gosling makes this persona so very real. He is the highest point of the film, whether you love his character or not.
The whole NC-17 debacle Blue Valentine underwent is absurd, to say the least. While the scene in question is without doubt erotic and very open, there have been far more provocative moments in recent films that have easily obtained and R rating. I will never understand why such examination occurred over this particular scene; if you ask me, Black Swan is every bit as explicit, if not more.
Do not watch this in an attempt to cheer yourself up. I realize it has already been established by now that Blue Valentine is not a happy-go-lucky film, but I can’t stress enough how true that is.
