Never has a movie captured the beauty of two people falling in love so effortlessly and with such elegance without ever veering into typical Hollywood romantic melodrama only to violently rip them apart with almost sadistic pleasure. Blue Valentine tells two stories about the same couple Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) splitting time between their fruitful young love and their dire depressing marriage. Watching these two wildly different relationships play out involving the same couple only adds to the investment we have for these characters and their relationship. Director Derek Cianfrance makes you wonder why these two people ever got married if they so clearly only put up with each other in their marriage, and Cianfrance makes it very simple, it's because they use to be in love.
The reality of love is that it has the capacity to evoke our highest sense of joy and also our most enraged passion. Most who experience love will inevitably fell its sting, and that can lead to a passionate life long affection or that same passionate relationship can lose its vitality and the most insignificant comment can bring about a rage filled argument as you grow more and more distant. Blue Valentine captures both of these extremes of a relationship beautifully as Dean and Cindy could not be a more convincing couple with such playful antics mixed with eyes that are filled with true affection, both actors give powerful performances that will have you second guessing if you aren't peering through some bizarre looking glass into a real relationship, and therein lies the tragedy. These two people no matter how bad the relationship gets clearly loved each other at some point and probably still do in some regards and so watching a fight lead to tears on both sides as they contemplate leaving each other and thus breaking apart their family and leaving their daughter without her father, it really is difficult to watch. Both actors give such believable performances when they are truly falling in love, it makes it so much more tragic once their relationship becomes stagnant and almost antagonistic.
While you witness the birth of such a happy and loving couple you are also watching its future demise, and it becomes incredibly soul crushing, this is not a happy movie. Anyone who knows what it feels like come to the realization that a relationship is over yet continued to go through the motions, will be affected in no small part by this movie. Its all the more gut wrenching the way it is portrayed, as both Dean and Cindy are sympathetic even when the relationship hits rock bottom. No one is the "bad guy" both people have flaws and it is those flaws matched with the fading feelings for one another that makes it so unbearable. Dean is not abusive but he drinks which leads to sudden mood shifts going from charmingly wise cracking to annoyed and offended by the most inane statement from Cindy, but his heartfelt love for daughter and wife are never in question . It adds to the overwhelming stress Cindy already deals with and Cindy while not cold hearted shrugs off Dean's affection and instigates Dean with remarks towards his job or his ambitions.
Blue Valentine is a raw unfiltered look into a loving and joyful relationship and the heart breaking yet harsh realities of a lifeless marriage that is only being put through its paces. Its an unprecedentedly honest dissection of a relationship. Both Gosling and Williams give captivating performances with real depth so rare in Hollywood. It's a relentlessly sad movie that is at times grueling to watch but its an uncensored look into a tough relationship made all the more depressing by the amazing engaging performances by its two lead actors.
(5 out of 5)
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