I was having a really good weekend, but apparently I didn't think myself deserving of such a lovely, relaxing two days with my family because I decided to end it on such a depressing note that is Blue Valentine.
The film is about Cindy (Michelle Williams) and Dean (Ryan Gosling), a couple whose marriage is crumbling. But we're not only watching the end, as the story cuts back to the beginning when the two were actually happy. One minute we're watching two people who don't really like each other try to get through sex in a cheesy motel to "save" their relationship and the next we're seeing two happy kids dancing and playing the ukulele in the street. This method of storytelling is both a blessing and a curse: the happy stars-in-their-eyes couple lightens the tension mounted by bickering spouses, but it inevitably makes the film ten times sadder knowing how quickly the happy kisses turn into angry shouting.
But at the core of their anger isn't the typical Hollywood grouping of usual suspects known as infidelity, abuse, or addiction. Cindy and Dean are two people who simply fell out of love. They work hard to put food on the table and do their best to raise their daughter right, but in the end they've lost sight of who they are together. No outside forces are to blame, just simply living day-to-day life. And that is the scariest theme Blue Valentine has to offer.
I've really put off watching the story of Cindy and Dean's troubled marriage for over a year now, because I was convinced that there wasn't possibly any new ground to tread when showing an unhappy couple. A maybe that's true, but it doesn't really matter. The film doesn't take the easy way out to explain why two people that much in love could find themselves sick of one another less than a decade later. It's not an easy film to watch either, but the performances and the organic treatment of the marriage is hard to shake. I guess the next time I'm feeling a little too happy, I'll have a remedy for that.
Rating:
2 pieces of fan mail:
Fantastic movie indeed. It's such an incredibly raw and poignant story and Ryan Gosling as well as Michelle Williams are nothing short of mesmerizing. Good review Rachel!
Thanks, Castor! It's a hard watch, but worth it at least once, for sure.
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