‘Blue Valentine’ A Must-See Movie

So another Wednesday has rolled around, which means it’s another late night at the office. However, it provides me the perfect opportunity to finish my review of ‘Blue Valentine’. I have to confess though, my Wednesday night plans fell through last week when I unknowingly entered a movie store whose copies of ‘Blue Valentine’ were all checked out. So upsetting I know, it was after all the second time I had attempted to checkout the movie. But not to worry! After getting off my other job at Saltgrass Steakhouse Thursday night, I successfully rented it and sat down with my good friend Emily and my roommate Heather to watch it. Emily also happened to bring a delicious concoction consisting of chocolate, peanut butter, coconut and marshmallows to our movie party, it was delicious! I foresee a future guest blog…

Any way, on to the movie.

As I left the movie store, movie in hand, the girl behind the counter warned me to be prepared to be depressed. Perhaps I was over-prepared for the theme of the movie because it wasn’t as devastating to me as I expected. That being said, it is undeniably sad. The movie goes back in forth between the present and the past, so that you are simultaneously seeing the birth and death of a relationship. The change in time isn’t confusing though, so don’t worry if you usually have difficulty following time jumps. The superb acting by Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, paired with effective physical changes make it easy to distinguish what time you are in.

The changes in time are spread out so that it’s not overwhelming. Only at the very end do you fluidly find yourself going back and forth in a Coppola-esqe  montage that highlights the antithesis of the beginning and end and likewise tears at your heart strings. The script is excellent and left me wondering if writer/director Derek Ciafrance didn’t have a little personal experience peppered into it. It was honest, raw, and dynamic both in story and in character.

At the beginning of the movie, I found myself severely disliking William’s character Cindy. Her cold distance and lack of effort stood in stark contrast to Gosling’s fun, loving and charismatic– albeit still childish for his age– Dean. However as the movie progressed, I realized that I had met Cindy at her breaking point. It was not that she was not trying, or was just indifferent, it was that she had ALREADY tried everything and had watched it fail. She had given everything and had nothing left to give. In realizing this and in seeing Dean’s progressively volatile behavior, I ended up feeling more empathy for Cindy rather than Dean.

However, I think part of the true brilliance of this movie, is that you don’t take sides. It’s no ones fault per-say. True Dean is a little out of control at the end, but he won’t give up. He refuses to walk away from his marriage because he loves Cindy, he loves their daughter ( a daughter who probably isn’t even his) and he honors his marriage vows. He is devoted to the family he formed when Cindy had no one else to turn to, a family that he technically has no responsibility to.

The excellent script and versatility of the actors makes this movie both beautiful and terrifying. We want so badly to be like Cindy, who looked at her parents and vowed to never be like them. We want to say to ourselves, ‘that won’t be me’. But at the same time, it’s a possibility. That’s what makes the movie so effective above all else, it’s raw honesty.

If you haven’t see ‘Blue Valentine’ you NEED to. It is a prime example of art because it is a brilliant reflection of human nature and the complicated realities of loving someone. As Dean sings in the song that has become a trademark of the movie, ‘you always hurt, the ones you love’.