Review of Blue Valentine (2010) by Vaidehi A — 05 Apr 2013

Dean: I didn't want to be somebody's husband and I didn't want to be somebody's dad, that wasn't my goal in life. But somehow it was. I work so I can do that.

"A Love Story".

Blue Valentine is pessimistic filmmaking, but great pessimistic filmmaking. It's what you'd almost label as an anti-love story and I would feel comfortable calling it a cautionary film as well. This isn't a romance film in the form we are used to seeing. It's not all happy endings and sunshine. This is a romance film for the divorce generation. The utter lack of optimism throughout the movie will definitely be a turnoff to some, but if you can appreciate a movie for being something different, then Blue Valentine is worth a look.

Blue Valentine follows a marriage between Dean and Cindy. It cuts between the present and the past. We see Dean and Cindy's marriage slowly unraveling as we see them fall in love too. I think the movie is brilliantly put together. Everything works in the order we're given, even though it isn't the order of the events. It works in a style that is close to, but not exactly along the lines of 500 Days of Summer. .

The movie hooked me right off the bat and the reason is because of the two leads. Ryan Gosling and Michele Williams are two of the best in the business right now and together, they are more than amazing. Gosling has a way of just bringing power to his performances that few actors are able to do nowadays. Williams also has an extreme power to her performance. The chemistry between the two is off the charts. They have to play two people falling in love and falling out of love and they do it with such ease and precision. .

This isn't a film for everyone. The independent and gritty feel of the film may be off-putting or maybe even unnerving to some. However, if you are like me and love independent films that are honest, even if the honesty isn't what we want to hear; then this is a film for you. .