Blue Valentine

2010 love story (at least according to the poster)

Rating: 14/20

Plot: A love story.

A bit disappointed that the Tom Waits' song wasn't used here, but Ryan Gosling (or whichever Ryan this is) almost made up for that with his Tiny Tim impressions. There's a lovely moment where he sings "You Always Hurt the One You Love" (which I know thanks to the Spike Jones version) and plays the ukulele while Michelle Williams kind of tap dances. There's another important song used in this, and the rest are taken care of by Grizzly Bear. I think it's the artist Grizzly Bear, not an actual grizzly bear.

This is a tough one to watch as director Derek Cianfrance (whom I do not know) weaves together an almost idyllic courtship between these love birds and what appears to be the end of their marriage about six or seven years later. It's particularly painful because you understand why they appealed to each other and develop a fondness for the idea of the two together. He's got a kind heart and looks like a movie star. She's really smart, and just like the man falling for her, the audience gets to see exactly what she looks like naked, too. So the developing of this romance feels right, natural albeit natural in a fairy-tale sorta way.

That's why the other side of this relationship coin is so painful. The juxtapositions are striking, almost to the point where it seems like it's Michelle Williams and whichever Ryan this is playing a separate couple or something. There's almost no context for the disintegration of this relationship. Both the development of the relationship and really its demise start in medias res, so we don't really know whether he's to blame or she's to blame or whether both are equally at fault here. There are hints here and there, but there's nothing concrete, leading at least this viewer to wonder if a final straw really made that much sense.

Ryan Gosling has a "Giving Tree" tattoo in this. I think that might be a major clue.

As much as I liked that song and dance number mentioned above, my favorite scene is earlier when Gosling performs a kind gesture for a character who isn't all that significant to the story, one that has the type of music you'd expect to accompany a kind gesture in an indie movie. That didn't stop it from touching me, however.