Cianfrance's flick traces the frustration, anger, and dissolution of the marriage of Dean (Gosling) and Cindy (Williams) while offering flashbacks to happier times. They are a 'normal' couple--young, romantic and optimistic at first but Dean lacks ambition and likes to drink and Cindy turns sulky over their limited life and has trust issues that crop up. The story may hit too close for some while others will find the duo merely tiresome. Viewers of the NC17-rated version should not get too hot and bothered--it's for one semi-consensual sex scene that's more emotionally violent than anything else.
It is unfortunate when a film of significant value is primarily known for a ratings board controversy. Such is the case with the exceptional new indie drama Blue Valentine, a soulful scrapbook of a young marriage in its death throes and a proper introduction to an intimate new voice in ...Read More
Excellent Acting Overcomes Timeline criddic2 at 2011-02-01 20:19:17
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams play a couple falling in and out of love. They provide a heart-wrenching portrait of both ends of that romance, but the movie's approach to showing the change (jumping around in time) can be jarring. Unlike "500 Days of Summer," it doesn't say when the scene takes place. Eventually the actors' emotional power overcomes this and the rhythm is accepted by the viewer.