Thousand of movies have been made that show what happen when you fall for the right man. Blue Valentine shows the consequences of falling for the wrong one. In Co-Writer/Director Derek Cianfrance’s 2010 emotional drama, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling star as a couple struggling to make their relationship work and proving that not every story, is a happy one.
Michelle Williams, is an Oscar nominated performance stars as Cindy, a young mother working in the medical field, struggling to keep her family together. Ryan Gosling gives an unflattering performance of Dean, an uneducated house painter who adds to Cindy’s trouble by being friends with their daughter instead of her parent. Cindy and Dean argue and fight, sometimes physically and it’s apparent early on that she’s grown apart from him. Just at the point where Dean is almost fully unlikable, Director Cianfrance cuts back to the beginning of their relationship and shows Dean at his most charismatic and shows why Cindy fell in love with him. The cutting between time lines becomes more frequent in the second half of the film showing the troubled times the couple had when they were young as well as the continued trouble they have as adults. The final scene between Cindy, Dean, and their daughter Frankie is truly heartbreaking. Never has a film made me so thankful to not have a relationship with my wife as these two have.
As was mentioned, Michelle Williams received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for this film and damn her luck that it was released the same year as Natalie Portman’s Black Swan. Williams is an actress that I’m completely sold on at this point. She will earn an Oscar someday and my guess is, she won’t stop at one. What’s so heartbreaking about Cindy the character is how authentic it feels. While her look is similar, Williams is able to show the great distance her personality has traveled when examining the two time frames. When she was younger, she was the naive, fun, silly young girl that had limited inhibitions and was just looking to enjoy herself. At this point in her life, she doesn’t seem to care too much about consequences and continues to make bad choices with men. When she’s older, Williams shows responsibility to her child, to her family and job and while she’s unhappy in the relationship she doesn’t waiver apart from her vow. She the type of character you just want to shake and get out of her current situation. She really is too good for Dean and he’s doing nothing but keeping her down.
Speaking of Dean, the character and choice of acting by Gosling really upset me. It’s a role that’s certainly annoying but I think what’s bothersome is that Gosling plays the part almost too well. He’s so good at playing this undereducated, alcoholic, talented character that it’s almost off putting. It upsets me seeing this character waste his own life and waste the life of his wife. The discussion about potential is where I almost had my fill with Dean. He wants to know what potential is and he continues to scream about how he doesn’t understand what she means by his potential. It’s these type of people who are more interested in explaining why they didn’t do something or why they couldn’t do something instead of taking a risk or just doing that really drive me crazy. Maybe the Gosling character hits too close to home and points out the things I so desperately don’t want to be (ie sitting at home, living off my wife, drinking all day). While those might be aspirations of some, that’s not for me and I feel sorry for those who wish for that. Blue Valentine really is a masterful look at this couple’s relationship. While I know this won’t be the same story that’s told about me and my wife, it’s a frightening movie to watch as it shows exactly how people can grow apart, and the destruction that’s caused by the end of a relationship.