Review of Blue Valentine (2010) by Sal M — 17 Jan 2017

I usually hate romance movies. They are fake, stupid and leave people with unrealistic expectations of real relationships. Blue Valentine is the opposite of all that and that's why its so good. This movie is about the demise of a marriage, so people in rock solids relationships may not be able to relate.

Action films I can understand being over the top because they are usually works of fiction. Romantic films usually deal with real human drama but always gets it wrong and are usually just plain terrible. You don't need to be fake to get great human drama. The Notebook literally celebrated having an affair, which is about as backwards as it gets. Blue Valentine is so authentic it is scary.

Real people do act like the Blue Valentine characters. I've experienced situations from the film which made it all the more powerful to watch. They show the characters upbringing which clearly lay out why the characters behave the way they do.

The flashbacks in this film are exceptionally done. They mirror the beginning of their relationship to the beginning of the end of their relationship.

Emotionally gripping, well-acted, with a wonderful score, Blue Valentine is a great film.