Blue Valentine (2010)

Greetings again from the darkness. OK, so I was extremely surprised to be the only male in a theater with 30 plus viewers. I had not once previously thought of this as a chick flick. In fact, it is quite a weighty relationship expose' and that explains the lack of present men. What is surprising is that while the film is about the ever-so-slow crumbling of a marriage, there is no blame placed at the feet of any one person, as is so often the case in Hollywood.

You might have already guessed that this is no upbeat, loosie-goosie rom-com. Rather, it is a bleak look at a marriage that starts with good intentions and fades into misery. On the plus, we witness an acting clinic by two of today's absolute best ... Ryan Gosling as Dean and Michelle Williams as Cindy. Dean is quite the oddball romantic as he strums his ukulele and quivers "You Always Hurt the Ones You Love" in a bit of foreshadowing. Cindy, on the other hand, is a bit more ambitious and has dreams of medical school.

The two meet by happenstance in the hallway of a nursing home when Cindy is visiting her grandmother. Immediately, there are sparks and after Cindy's macho boyfriend proves his true rotten self to her, she becomes more enamored with Dean. When an unexpected pregnancy occurs, Dean is pretty quick to stand up for Cindy and they set off to build a life together.

Flash forward 6 years and Dean has changed very little, while Cindy just seems totally beaten down. They both cherish their precious daughter Frankie (played by newcomer Faith Wladyka) but their relationship is nowhere, gone, kaput. Even an attempted one-night getaway to a themed hotel doesn't provide the relief they need. Instead, it's the final straw. When Cindy repeats "I'm done" ... we don't doubt her at all.

Director and co-writer Derek Cianfrance does a tremendous job with the details and creating the personalities of these two people. Every relationship requires work and failure can be predicted when one gives up and the other pretends all is fine. This one probably won't save any marriages, but it is worth seeing just to watch Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in action.

Fmovies: While the movie states that it is a love story, I think it depends on your definition of "love story" or how far that term stretches. Let me put it this way: This ain't your typical Valentines movie. It is heavy drama and it does depict relationship(s) very harshly. And because it feels so real, you can get sucked into it.

The movie got some heat over one scene (rating wise there was some problem in the USA), but if you see it in context, it does make sense. It does hurt, but it makes sense. You should also watch out for the time-line. Though it can be easily followed (hairline), but it might confuse you for a second there. Great movie with great actors!

If ever there was a perfect film that defines the romantic relationship for the 21st century, Derek Cianfrance's 'Blue Valentine' is that film. We begin at a secluded ranch house where a little girl is trying to find her lost dog. We then see her father (Ryan Gosling) comforting her. Enter mom (Michelle Williams), the concerned mother who tries to balance work and her child's needs. Seems like a generally happy household, right? Wrong. Though they may not want to admit it, Dean and Cindy's marriage has been on the rocks for years. Dean decides to take his wife to a sex motel that ends up being more like a Star Trek motel to try to rekindle the way they used to feel about each other. The reason for their bickering is unclear until the flashbacks that have been following the main plot line give you a full understanding of why things have deteriorated so. You see them meet each other, fall madly in love, and then experienceÂ… well, you'll have to see it yourself.

Personally, I think this is the tragic romance to end all tragic romances. Films will try to beat it, but they will have to work long and hard before they can eek out an ounce of the genuineness with which this film tells its story. Ryan Gosling's performance is one with a true everyman quality while allowing for a full-fledged, interesting character and a brilliantly realized character arc. Michelle Williams does the same. She delivers this role with so much raw truth that you almost forget that it's Michelle Williams and not just an average woman. I would not be surprised at all to see both of these superb talents get nominated for Best Actor Oscars, along with Derek Cianfrance for Best Director and the writing team for Best Original Screenplay.

It's heartbreaking, it's deeply moving; it will have you laughing, crying and singing its praises. Even though the MPAA seems to have a beef with truth in filmmaking, it's hard to imagine this film not being discovered over time and being recognized for the infallible masterpiece that it is.

Blue Valentine fmovies. Surprisingly well done. I was a bit skeptical at first, but as I traveled my way through this story, it made more sense than many other attempts to capture this concept and present it well. Michelle Williams really shines here, it may be her best role yet, at least that I'm aware of.

The key point here is that is an anatomy of a marriage that has dissolved over time, becoming increasingly irrelevant to the wife, and evermore difficult for the husband to comprehend or connect with what's going on with his wife.

I've seen this before, in real life. Sometimes, marriages just come apart over time, even if they started out with the best of intentions and all the chemistry that can be imagined. It just happens . . . people change over time, and often, not in sync with each other. There's no real "bad guy" in the scenario portrayed . . . just the realities of how people drift apart, to the point of no return. Trust me on this one, this does happen.

This film may not be for everyone, but for those who can relate with this type of story, this is probably one of the best attempts yet which delivers a reasonably realistic depiction of what this can be like.

Blue Valentine is one of the most depressing and well done films I've ever seen.

It is one that I will recommend that everyone see. Not because I want them to be sad or because I think they could learn anything new but because I think everyone should want to see the best of everything and this film is the best of its genre that I have ever seen. The acting is perfect. The metaphors are delicious and the hidden signs are just waiting to be uncovered.

Another great thing about this movie is that it is interesting to get different perspectives from your friends as to what they think happened in the movie and to whose side they are on. It is unlikely that they will have trouble connecting to or relating to the characters in Blue Valentine no matter if they have ever been married or had kids before.

Don't expect this to be a date movie or a nice happy rom-com. It is pretty much the anti-thesis of a date movie.

No matter what else is yet to be released, you will not see two better performances this year than Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.

It's almost impossible to imagine anyone in anything coming close. In the defensive, aggressive way he turns every line of dialogue around on the speaker as a hidden affront to his insecurities, Gosling reminded me of no less than De Niro in Raging Bull as the older Dean. Playing the younger version, he channels the charm, romanticism, and recklessness of a 1960s Paul Newman.

Williams, who has emerged as the best American actress 30 and under, pulls off a performance that recalls Gena Rowlands' work with Cassavettes. Which is not to say either is an imitation, they aren't "doing method" or aping the authenticity of previous greats. They're 100% the real deal, so good you can only compare them to the best, and they fully embody these characters in every frame. They made me believe, they made me care, they broke my heart.

The story is a familiar one because it's the most common source of drama in life and art but avoids cliché and instead handles the subject with uncommon insight and grace. The lack of context scene-to-scene keeps the audience engaged and on their feet, filling in the intentional holes with their own experience and lending the film a universal relatability. In good times and bad, we can recognize our own triumphs and failures in love. It captures the joyous highs and devastating lows of relationships better than anything I can recall. Gosling singing while Williams tap dances, what she reveals to Gosling on the bridge and how he reacts, the scene in the doctor's office towards the end... they achieve that sense of cinematic transcendence so rare these days. They simply don't craft scenes like this or give actors roles this fully realized in Hollywood anymore.

It's clear this was a labor of love for all involved and it paid off in spades. This is the best American film I've seen this year.