Blue Valentine

8/ 10 Dropps

Genre: Drama, Romance

Rated: NC-17
Running Time: 1 hr. 54 min.
In Theaters: Dec 29, 2010 Limited (Now playing at Enzian)
Box Office:$4.5M
Directed By: Derek Cianfrance
Written By: Derek Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne, Joey Curtis

A certain evocation of emotion is expected in today’s modern film market. Whether
that emotion is something as common or universally understood as humor and
love, or a bit more complicated to reproduce like anger, fear, and sadness, films
(especially great ones) good films are meant to establish these feelings effortlessly,
producing something that can evolve on and off the screen.

Blue Valentine follows Dean and Cindy, a young couple who have been married for
a little over six years. With a child, home, and future to think about, Blue Valentine
examines the pair’s designs on love, devotion, and responsibility, alternating
between past experiences and present troubles, as their partnership reaches its
boiling point.

Feature writers Derek Cianfrance and Cami Delavigne took a big leap with Blue
Valentine, masterfully crafting a film that leaves the viewer with poignant questions
upon which to speculate. Cianfrance also directed the film and deserves to be
recognized in his achievement. Blue Valentine has garnered a reputation, and
deserves it at least for this reason: everyone who sees is will walk away his or
her own interpretation, and satisfyingly so. Where most films deliver a universal
message meant to be recognizable to almost anyone, Blue Valentine does the
opposite. It creates characters and situations in which no character is overtly
desirable. Most film in today’s market survive on their connections to the audience,
while Cianfrance’s movie is gritty and raw, leaving the viewer uncomfortable but
intrigued throughout.

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are cast in the roles of Dean and Cindy, both
providing impressive performances of characters in transition. Gosling portrays
Dean, a high school dropout and freelance house painter who isn’t shy about the fact
that his “profession” allows him the occasional beer for breakfast. Williams plays
Cindy, a troubled youth turned mother and nurse. While Gosling seems to have been
snubbed for awards commending his strong performance, Williams is up for an
Oscar for her portrayal of Cindy. Regardless, Blue Valentine finds both actors fully
enveloping their roles and creating something on screen that is truly striking.

Blue Valentine is a movie that will affect nearly every viewer willing to watch the
trials and tribulations behind a relationship’s bloom and slow death. This film will
not be for everyone, but is unique in its style and content, creating something that
leaves the viewer with his or her own personal film with which to walk away.

NOTE- Graphic sex scenes have earned this drama a NC-17 rating by the MPAA.

-Hunter Freiburg