They appear to have the world at their feet at the outset of the relationship. Although I am not against films that can make you feel good, sometimes a film like Blue Valentine accomplishes much more by upsetting the audience–challenging them, making them think past what they just witnessed.Dean and Cindy live a quiet life in a modest neighborhood. It still feels uncomfortable to watch and it leaves you with many questions. You go into this film with an idea of how it’s going to end, but that doesn’t cheapen the blow by any means. While one of those films satisfies its viewer with a happy ending, Blue Valentine is not nearly as forgiving. This film belongs next to others like Revolutionary Road and Kramer vs. Upon leaving the theater, I couldn’t help but feel bummed out. I would love to think that a movie like this could acquire all of the accolades it deserves, but it is very dark. At the same time, it allows the audience to absorb Blue Valentine in such a way that it could be an incredible cinematic experience for many. In this juxtaposition, it clearly designates a separation in how the characters grow and interact with one another.
Your nerves are frantic, but the presence of this other human being makes you feel something you have either never felt, or something that grew foreign to you over the ages. There are even moments where the camera almost seems to tremble in such a way that you feel like you are sharing the eyes of a new lover embarking on a meaningful relationship. In the past sequences, the camera jolts up and down street corners with exuberance and excitement.
The glimpse into the lives of Dean and Cindy is portrayed as bleak and it resonates a feeling of drowning in one’s mess that they are not sure that they can clean up. When examining the present day, the screen is filtered with still camera shots and blue-gray tones. The one trick that I greatly enjoyed about Blue Valentine was its choice to make substantial camera movement decisions that separated both time frames. Whether it was in Lars and the Real Girl, Half Nelson, Brokeback Mountain or Wendy and Lucy, these two are incredible at their craft and it’s exciting to see Gosling and Williams share the screen together. They are two actors that have really made a name for themselves. It’s also fascinating to consider where both of these actors began in their careers, and where they have ended up. Although the entire time frame of the marriage is not portrayed, it doesn’t lessen the impact of pivotal scenes that reveal much more than anyone could by only examining what one character is feeling at any given moment. The two actors achieve wonderful things in how they depict both sides of a marriage. Everyone involved with the film demanded that this story be told and even in their bouts with the MPAA, they demanded that the film be shown uncompromised. Given the dedication that both actors committed to Blue Valentine, this doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. The devastation that this film visits upon its viewers is unforgiving, but truly gratifying for anyone who refuses to let cinema take shortcuts and undermine it’s audience.Īs the end credits began to roll, I noticed that both Gosling and Williams acted as executive producers on this film. By setting up these two examples, Blue Valentine introduces several ideas that unveil their meanings at later, more appropriate moments. After this time frame has been established, the film then ventures to a time when the two lovers first met. We see the family the two have created, with a daughter in tow. We are introduced to Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) at two points in time.
The film takes the idea of marriage and tries to show the journey that one can take while encountering this newfound responsibility, as well as the unraveling of emotions in a tragic fashion. It’s difficult to watch yet it’s truly remarkable, especially when you consider that it is the debut effort by director Derek Cianfrance. Blue Valentine demands that its audience allow it to linger in their thoughts. This is not a delicate movie by any means. After so much hoopla regarding the film, I never knew when I would actually get a chance to sit down and see it. Fortunately, the producers were able to defend Blue Valentine and achieve an R-rating. The MPAA found one particular sequence so unsuitable that it compromised the film’s merits by giving it a dreaded NC-17 rating. Several critics before me have heralded the film for it’s unflinching depiction of the dissolution of a marriage. Derek Cianfrance)īlue Valentine has been clouded with controversy since it’s unveiling.
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