Blue Valentine
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star in this romantic-drama, a portrait of a disintegrating marriage. Unfolding like a mystery, the film cross-cuts between time periods to reveal the evolution of their relationship.
On the far side of a once-passionate romance, Cindy (Williams) and Dean (Gosling) are married with a young daughter. Problems with the marriage centre around Cindy's ambition, juxtaposed to Dean's contentment to focus on his wife and child.
The film was scored by great, Brooklyn indie band, Grizzly Bear.
- Director:
- Derek Cianfrance (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Derek CianfranceCami DelavigneJoey Curtis
- Cast:
- Ryan GoslingMichelle WilliamsJohn DomanBen ShenkmanMike VogelReila Aphrodite
Reviews & comments
Variety
pressOn balance, this is a meaty, strongly realized dramatic work of considerable accomplishment.
Total Film
pressA raw slog through one couple’s marital misery, but make no mistake: the combined talents of its stars will rip your heart out.
The New York Times
pressCindy and Dean remain, for all their sustained agony and flickering joy, something less than completely realized human beings. Mr. Cianfrance's ingenious chronological gimmick, coupled with his anxious, clumsy plotting, leaves them without enough oxygen to burst into breathing, loving life.
Roger Ebert
pressDerek Cianfrance, the film's writer and director, observes with great exactitude the birth and decay of a relationship. This film is alive in its details.
Hollywood Reporter
pressUltimately, the heavy-handed and annoyingly obvious aesthetic wears thin.
Empire Magazine
pressA raw but beautiful picture of love uniting and dividing: tender, real and heartfelt.
Dominion Post
pressMichelle Williams and Ryan Gosling are breathtaking in this enormously watchable and compassionate film.
Depressing but brilliant
This raw juxtaposition of the beginning and collapse of a relationship starred indie darlings Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. Bound to inspire many a debate over whose fault the breakup was, or who loved who more. This is a film that delves assertively into the heady hope and promise of a relationship's start, only to bring the audience swiftly back...
Hmmm...
I appreciated the incredible acting, the realistic grittiness of the relationship portrayal, and the cinematography but still, something was missing here. I feel like we saw the beginning and the end of the relationship but the actual withdrawal of closeness was absent so we just have to take it on faith that this marriage disintegration really did just...
Brave Filmmaking
A very strong, thoughtful take on a couple falling out of love. Elegantly flips back and forth from the present to six years earlier. Excellent soundtrack, intimate photography, and utterly believable performances. And it ends with a beautifully shot glimmer of hope. I really felt like I travelled with these characters, and that there was genuine truth in...
Hated it
Obviously I'm way out on a limb here, but found this movie seriously lacking. I didn't warm to the characters enough to care what when on. The themes were adolescent, shallow and unconvincing. The photography although extremely beautiful was cold and distancing. Good music and acting, but boring and annoying. Teenagers might enjoy it.
Emotionally touching
A very realpiece of life that moves from early romantic/emotional attraction to present day tension of how to get on with someone you've been with for a while. Very moving pice of life that gives background story of what can happen to peoples life. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling so deserve to go far in the films they choose to be in.
Raw Romantic Drama
This is a very raw, romantic-drama movie and portrays Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in a very different character roles than they have ever played before (they even gave Ryan Gosling a receding hairline!). The movie portrays the disintegration of a marriage and cuts between two time periods to reveal how and why their relationship changed. It was a...
Mood music...
Blue Valentine looks at the contrariness of human nature through the lens of a relationship arc between young mum/wannabe-doctor-turned-nurse Cindy and directionless and (mostly) likeable young working man Dean. This 2nd feature from dir. Derek Cianfrance (what is the origin of that name???) is smartly constructed and reminds greatly in technique/subject...
Heartbreaking
It's hard to say I 'liked' this film. From closely framed sex scenes to emotionally devastating moments, it wasn't a pleasant journey. But it was beautiful. Very beautiful. Derek Cianfrance has put us right in the middle of this relationship on its last legs and, as in real life, it was impossible to lay the blame on one character. Fantastic...
Variety
pressOn balance, this is a meaty, strongly realized dramatic work of considerable accomplishment.
Total Film
pressA raw slog through one couple’s marital misery, but make no mistake: the combined talents of its stars will rip your heart out.
The New York Times
pressCindy and Dean remain, for all their sustained agony and flickering joy, something less than completely realized human beings. Mr. Cianfrance's ingenious chronological gimmick, coupled with his anxious, clumsy plotting, leaves them without enough oxygen to burst into breathing, loving life.
Roger Ebert
pressDerek Cianfrance, the film's writer and director, observes with great exactitude the birth and decay of a relationship. This film is alive in its details.
Hollywood Reporter
pressUltimately, the heavy-handed and annoyingly obvious aesthetic wears thin.
Empire Magazine
pressA raw but beautiful picture of love uniting and dividing: tender, real and heartfelt.
Dominion Post
pressMichelle Williams and Ryan Gosling are breathtaking in this enormously watchable and compassionate film.
Depressing but brilliant
This raw juxtaposition of the beginning and collapse of a relationship starred indie darlings Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. Bound to inspire many a debate over whose fault the breakup was, or who loved who more. This is a film that delves assertively into the heady hope and promise of a relationship's start, only to bring the audience swiftly back...
Hmmm...
I appreciated the incredible acting, the realistic grittiness of the relationship portrayal, and the cinematography but still, something was missing here. I feel like we saw the beginning and the end of the relationship but the actual withdrawal of closeness was absent so we just have to take it on faith that this marriage disintegration really did just...
Brave Filmmaking
A very strong, thoughtful take on a couple falling out of love. Elegantly flips back and forth from the present to six years earlier. Excellent soundtrack, intimate photography, and utterly believable performances. And it ends with a beautifully shot glimmer of hope. I really felt like I travelled with these characters, and that there was genuine truth...
Hated it
Obviously I'm way out on a limb here, but found this movie seriously lacking. I didn't warm to the characters enough to care what when on. The themes were adolescent, shallow and unconvincing. The photography although extremely beautiful was cold and distancing. Good music and acting, but boring and annoying. Teenagers might enjoy it.
Emotionally touching
A very realpiece of life that moves from early romantic/emotional attraction to present day tension of how to get on with someone you've been with for a while. Very moving pice of life that gives background story of what can happen to peoples life. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling so deserve to go far in the films they choose to be in.
Raw Romantic Drama
This is a very raw, romantic-drama movie and portrays Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in a very different character roles than they have ever played before (they even gave Ryan Gosling a receding hairline!). The movie portrays the disintegration of a marriage and cuts between two time periods to reveal how and why their relationship changed. It was a...
Mood music...
Blue Valentine looks at the contrariness of human nature through the lens of a relationship arc between young mum/wannabe-doctor-turned-nurse Cindy and directionless and (mostly) likeable young working man Dean. This 2nd feature from dir. Derek Cianfrance (what is the origin of that name???) is smartly constructed and reminds greatly in technique/subject...
Heartbreaking
It's hard to say I 'liked' this film. From closely framed sex scenes to emotionally devastating moments, it wasn't a pleasant journey. But it was beautiful. Very beautiful. Derek Cianfrance has put us right in the middle of this relationship on its last legs and, as in real life, it was impossible to lay the blame on one character. Fantastic...
Share