Review of Blue Valentine (2010) by James S — 29 Apr 2013

Sometimes a film can be great but you can't ever imagine sitting yourself down to watch it again. Blue Valentine is a compelling and capturing film but one that you can't imagine browsing your dvd shelf and picking out to watch again at a later date.

Allegedly based upon director Derek Cianfrance's own relationship experience the film charts the early and final days of married couple Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams time together. We see them meet and go through a rather hurried falling in love process, contrasted with the death throes of their relationship. Thankfully we are spared the devastating aftermath. I like to pretend that they got back together and it was all alright.

Cianfrance has steered his actors well and it's fair to say that both Gosling and Williams have never been better. They make for a more than convincing couple and while the scenes of their early courtship might seem a little contrived, they both sparkle off each other with a bristling resentment during the present day moments. The script is perfectly written, particularly the scenes of them with their young daughter. What perhaps makes the film hit so hard is the normality of the conversations had over breakfast, making the film seem all the more real.

As the film progresses we can see at times that these characters are clearly no good for each other in some ways but there is a ray of affection there too. This makes the avalanche towards the conclusion seem a little bit like an assault for the sake of drama but Cianfrance manages to keep a lid on things just, before they boil over completely.

To say the film finishes on a rather bleak note would be an understatement. The open ending leaves it with a certain hope, though we know we'll never be sure of what happened to these characters.

Blue Valentine is a superbly made film about the difficulties of the sacrifices we make for love, acted out by two of the best actors working today. It's a highly emotional piece, often hard to watch but impossible to look away from.