Blue Valentine (Derek Clanfrance, 2010): USA

Reviewed by Tommy Gilbert. Viewed at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, AFI Film Festival, Hollywood.

Blue Valentine, starring Ryan Gosling as Dean and Michelle Williams as Cindy, is a film heavily centered on the importance of a loving family. Beginning with the absence of the family dog, the plot slides its viewers into a calm recollection of memories of each parent’s past; some recalling their past before meeting one another, others recalling the way they meet and their lives after they meet.

In many ways, this film had very little prominence in the plot line and almost becomes more of a documentary about the two people’s lives as opposed a common drama. When Cindy meets Dean while she’s dating a high school wrestling jock, her focus changes and she becomes attached to what seems to be a much more promising, positive, and charming relationship that blossoms into what would hopefully be a life-long bond. However, young love commonly dies quickly, and their marriage threatens to fall apart over the years. Dean is immediately displayed as a disorganized drinker and even as much as slob, and certainly not the man that Cindy loves as a young woman. With a young daughter who seems to be the last little hold on their bond, their love is constantly challenged throughout the two hours of footage.

What is so incredibly touching about this movie, however, was the emotional struggle that ensues between Cindy’s desire to break apart and Dean’s strife to prove himself. His problem, though, is merely a bunch of talk. It becomes pretty clear that he can make as many promises as he wants, but it doesn’t mean that he sees to carrying them out. This is very similar to personal family experiences that I myself have been through, which makes Blue Valentine so real to me. What might seem like a cute tale of love at first actually morphs into a torment of an unstable relationship, which is one element in particular that makes this film stand out against others.

Derek Clanfrance truly worked very hard over the twelve years it took to create such a realistic film. And Michelle Williams’ and Ryan Gosling’s performances are stunning, not allowing any room for gaps in their acted marriage. This film is especially excellent for every moviegoer seventeen and above to see because it is the epitome of human nature. From life struggles to simple pleasures, Blue Valentine takes every viewer to the small streets where love is found and leaves them on the doorsteps of the home where love grows stale. A passionate drama and a fantastic fictional documentary, Clanfrance has produced one of the most perfected motion pictures I have seen in a long time.