Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine feels like a real story. The 2 main characters are a couple, who we follow at various points in their life together. We slide back and forth in time seeing their triumphs and tribulations. This film manages to balance their life by showing it interspersed, back and forth between their beginning and seemingly their end.

But what truly kept me riveted wasn't the jumps back and forth, or trying to figure out the events they refer to or the structure of their lives. What really kept me in this film was the comparison brought into the characters, between their younger and older selves. The progression the characters go through during their lives feels real. You see how a once charming trait has become skewed over time, and how the fresh relationship has grown rank. Never did I really doubt their choices. Their actions made sense in their younger years as well as their older ones, you don't blame them for what happens to their relationship.

This movie is a drama, and it pulls at your heartstrings, but it doesn't abuse you during it. It plays into those experiences most of us have at one time or another, to love and then grow apart without being able to place where you really went wrong. I think this movie really calls into our human nature through the almost reminiscing quality as well as the stark contrast that happens throughout the film. However it also works so well due to the impeccable performances of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, as well as the outstanding writing and direction they were given.

And last but not least, Grizzly Bear are featured quite extensively in the soundtrack, and it fits this film so well, you'll be surprised it wasn't made for it. Songs I knew and loved, gained more meaning through their collaboration with the story and images. And they set the tone for the film in a way that really allows this piece to breath, both deep and frantically as needed.

This film was on my list to watch very early on in 2010, and then I forgot about it, and although it had some momentum at the beginning of the year, I think it lost it as more and more movies came out. I think it's a shame that it got forgotten in the tidal wave as this was probably one of my favorites of the year.


P.S. I would put a warning on this movie, but somehow I think those too young for it wouldn't be interested in it anyways. I don't know if I would have appreciated it as fully several years ago. Rated R.