Blue Valentine

Positive—I found “Blue Valentine” to be a great movie. The performances by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams were so lifelike and extraordinary. I felt genuine empathy towards the characters on a level I rarely experience. The conclusion of the story was particularly heartbreaking, because both parents really love their daughter, even though they no longer love each other.

Having said all that, “Blue Valentine” would be extremely offensive to all but the more liberal-minded Christian. The language and strong sexuality are not suited to those who would rather avoid these issues. I found the film to be emotionally powerful and a reminder of the importance of a God-centered life.
My Ratings: Moral rating: / Moviemaking quality: 5

“…It’s hard, painful stuff. … …Approaching 50 f-words… asking couples to witness such an explicit portrayal of that brokenness is not going to help them fix their own issues. One does not (and should not) have to experience Dean and Cindy’s fictional divorce to understand just how devastating real divorce can be. …”

“…two superb actors etch an unflinching portrait of a young marriage doomed never to grow old. … In this marriage, as in so many others, it’s the internal battle, the struggle with one’s own warring emotions, that exacts the greatest toll, and prompts those famously resigned words that leave victory indistinguishable from defeat: ‘I can’t do this. I can’t do this any more’.” [3½/4]

“…this is a movie which puts its audience in close, sometimes stifling proximity to a dying relationship, and I occasionally felt that it resembled, just a little, an indulgent actors’ project. …” [3/5]

“…Virtuoso co-stars create a heartbreaking drama in ‘Blue Valentine’… it’s true that the movie is both emotionally violent and sexually explicit. Yet these scenes from a marriage are crafted with such attention to detail and overarching honesty that ‘Blue Valentine’ touches the heart.” [3½/4]

“…obsessively mapped arcing and actorly ding-dinging at every emotional beat. There’s so much to admire in Derek Cianfrance’s marriage-in-crisis miniature that it’s that much more frustrating when it falls short of its promise. …” [3/5]

“…Love story gone wrong is one smooth, dark heartbreaker… a small but shattering film that marks its writer-director, Derek Cianfrance, as an artist of real depth, observes relationship dynamics at a molecular level, welling with as much understanding as Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Scenes from a Marriage’.” [3½/4]

“…In many films, it’s the past that poisons the present. ‘Blue Valentine’ works differently. It’s the terrible present, Dean and Cindy’s wrecked marriage, that makes the poignant, tender, nostalgic flashbacks seem so deluded. It’s the present that also may freak out moviegoers. ‘Blue Valentine’ is so nervy, so ‘real,’ that it poses a dire threat. Dean and Cindy are such decent folks. How do we know what happens to them couldn’t happen to us?…” [3½/4]