Blue Valentine
Reviewer: Wally
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Released: 2011
Rating: 15
Popcorns: 3.5/5
The film centres on a contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods.
I can't really say that I enjoyed this film, as it was pretty hard to watch and sad to be witnessing the breakdown of a marriage, especially since I've just got hitched myself. What I can say, is that it was pretty effective and a great piece of drama.
I loved the way Cianfrance mixed up the narrative and some of the scenes at the beginning of their relationship are very charming and heart warming. I think this all adds to the fact that you find yourself egging them on to try and sort things out.
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are both brilliant actors and they are very believable as a couple. Both characters have their flaws, but it's hard to feel sympathetic towards Gosling's mentally abusive side throughout the later years of their marriage, until the final few scenes when he has a bit of a break down and you can see that he doesn't want to be like that. It's a very moving scene.
I probably won't watch this film again for a long time, but I would still recommend at least one viewing to everyone. I'm interested to keep an eye on Derek Cianfrance, as this is only really his second real venture into feature films, mainly focussing his efforts on TV documentaries.
A great, effective drama and really nicely shot movie!
hort and sweet review, can't wait to read more from you Wally. I was expecting a zombie film so I was pleasantly suprised to see you reviewing Blue Valentine.
ReplyDeleteI went to see this film in a beautiful independent cinema and loved every minute of it. It was a refreshing change from the hollywood happy endings and incredibly hard hitting.