Blue Valentine
Reviews
Filipe Manuel Neto
**It is a discreet film, which can go unnoticed, but very intense, realistic, believable and that can be difficult to see for many people.** Romantic dramas aren't exactly my favorite type of film, but I recognize the quality of work done in this film, and the skill of director Derek Cianfrance. In almost every way, this film was a labor of love, drawing heavily on the director's personal experience who, as a young man, witnessed his parents' divorce. Although the film has a name that reminds us of the rosier side of love, the film actually does a very detailed dissection of a relationship, from beginning to end. I can even agree if someone tells me that this film is not for everyone: it is a dense film, something slow, there are very monotonous passages, dialogues that seem to be there just to fill time, but that actually help us to understand the personality and way of acting of the two elements of the couple. In addition, the film does not have a linear narrative, making several setbacks and temporal advances, in order to intersperse the past and the present, showing us the evolution of the relationship and, also, its wear and tear. It's not a nice movie or easy to watch, and in large part this is due to the authenticity of what we see. That couple could be our neighbor, or one of us. It is a film that, for many people, can evoke painful memories of past and present courtships and marriages. I really enjoyed the interpretation of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. Both actors were fully committed to the work, built a powerful chemistry and partnership, they are largely the soul of the film. Gosling played a romantic who absolutely believes in love and seems willing to do anything to try to make their marriage work. He's passionate, absolute and enthusiastic, the kind of man who doesn't mind taking risks, and has the self-confidence to run after the ones he loves. Williams made her character more reserved, tough, a little defensive, but full of personality and inner strength. Moreover, the actress would get an Oscar nomination for Best Actress with this work. The film has a very well executed cinematography, excellent editing work and good production values. It's not a flashy film, it will surely go unnoticed by many people, and in fact it's not a perfect film or totally likable, but it's interesting, it's intense, and if we give it a chance, it's impossible not to feel sympathy for the characters. and suffer with the difficulties they go through.
CinemaSerf
A really rather dreary depiction of two young people from pretty dysfunctional backgrounds who get together - with her baby from another relationship - and struggle through life. Ryan Gosling is "Dean" a working class man quite content to make his way as a handy man/painter whilst "Cindy" (Michelle Williams) is a nurse who has (slightly) greater aspirations for both of them, and her little girl. The story is delivered in threads that try to reconcile their separate, rather depressing, routes to their current predicaments alongside their prevailing issues. Certainly there was love, once, in their relationship but that has long been supplanted by resentment, frustration and even some jealousy before it all culminates with a rather disastrous "romantic" night in an hotel. The relentless inevitability of the story is writ large from the start, and although the film is well put together, it cannot elevate it from the realms of a rather drab, angry melodrama.
Movie Recommendation
Lars and the Real Girl2007-10-12Extremely shy Lars finds it impossible to make friends or socialize. His brother and sister-in-law worry about him, so when he announces that he has a girlfriend he met on the Internet, they are overjoyed. But Lars' new lady is a life-size plastic woman. On the advice of a doctor, his family and the rest of the community go along with his delusion.More...
Half Nelson2006-08-11Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a troubled student Drey makes a startling discovery of his secret life, causing a tenuous bond between the two that could either end disastrously or provide a catalyst of hope.More...
All Good Things2010-12-03Newly-discovered facts, court records and speculation are used to elaborate the true love story and murder mystery of the most notorious unsolved murder case in New York history.More...
Song to Song2017-03-17In this modern love story set against the Austin, Texas music scene, two entangled couples — struggling songwriters Faye and BV, and music mogul Cook and the waitress whom he ensnares — chase success through a rock ‘n’ roll landscape of seduction and betrayal.More...
(500) Days of Summer2009-07-17Tom, greeting-card writer and hopeless romantic, is caught completely off-guard when his girlfriend, Summer, suddenly dumps him. He reflects on their 500 days together to try to figure out where their love affair went sour, and in doing so, Tom rediscovers his true passions in life.More...
Fracture2007-04-19A husband is on trial for the attempted murder of his wife, in what is seemingly an open/shut case for the ambitious district attorney trying to put him away. However, there are surprises for both around every corner, and, as a suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse is played out, each must manipulate and outwit the other.More...
The Place Beyond the Pines2013-03-20A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.More...
Blue Jay2016-10-07Meeting by chance when they return to their tiny California hometown, two former high-school sweethearts reflect on their shared past.More...
Lost River2015-04-08Billy, a single mother of two, is led into a macabre underworld while her teenage son, Bones, discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town. Both Billy and Bones must dive deep into the mystery if their family is to survive.More...
An Education2009-10-29Despite her sheltered upbringing, Jenny is a teen with a bright future; she's smart, pretty, and has aspirations of attending Oxford University. When David, a charming but much older suitor, motors into her life in a shiny automobile, Jenny gets a taste of adult life that she won't soon forget.More...
I'm Not There2007-10-01Six actors portray six personas of music legend Bob Dylan in scenes depicting various stages of his life, chronicling his rise from unknown folksinger to international icon and revealing how Dylan constantly reinvented himself.More...
Charlie Countryman2013-02-09While traveling abroad, a guy falls for a Romanian beauty whose unreachable heart has its origins in her violent, charismatic ex.More...
Like Crazy2011-10-28A British college student falls for an American student, only to be separated from him when she's banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa.More...
Blue Jasmine2013-08-01After experiencing a traumatic misfortune, Jasmine French, a wealthy woman from New York, moves to San Francisco to live with her foster sister Ginger and the firm purpose of getting a new life, but she will be haunted by anxiety and memories of the past.More...
Revolutionary Road2008-12-19A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.More...
The Wedding Singer1998-02-13Robbie, a local rock star turned wedding singer, is dumped on the day of his wedding. Meanwhile, waitress Julia finally sets a wedding date with her fiancée Glenn. When Julia and Robbie meet and hit it off, they find that things are more complicated than anybody thought.More...
The Ides of March2011-10-07Dirty tricks stand to soil an ambitious young press spokesman's idealism in a cutthroat presidential campaign where 'victory' is relative.More...
The Kids Are All Right2010-07-09Two women, Nic and Jules, brought a son and daughter into the world through artificial insemination. When one of their children reaches age, both kids go behind their mothers' backs to meet with the donor. Life becomes so much more interesting when the father, two mothers and children start to become attached to each other.More...
Sliding Doors1998-04-23London publicist Helen, effortlessly slides between parallel storylines that show what happens when she does or does not catch a train back to her apartment. Love. Romantic entanglements. Deception. Trust. Friendship. Comedy. All come into focus as the two stories shift back and forth, overlap and surprisingly converge.More...
Only Lovers Left Alive2013-12-12A depressed musician reunites with his lover in the desolate streets of Detroit. Though their romance has endured several centuries, it is tested by the arrival of her capricious and unpredictable younger sister.More...
Similar Movies
The Bridge
1959-10-21A group of German boys are ordered to protect a small bridge in their home village during the waning months of the second world war. Truckloads of defeated, cynical Wehrmacht soldiers flee the approaching American troops, but the boys, full of enthusiasm for the "blood and honor" Nazi ideology, stay to defend the useless bridge. The film is based on a West German anti-war novel of the same name, written by Gregor Dorfmeister.What's Eating Gilbert...
1993-12-17Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother, who is so overweight that she can't leave the house, and his mentally impaired younger brother, Arnie, who has a knack for finding trouble. Settled into a job at a grocery store and an ongoing affair with local woman Betty Carver, Gilbert finally has his life shaken up by the free-spirited Becky.Meet the Parents
2000-10-06Greg Focker is ready to marry his girlfriend, Pam, but before he pops the question, he must win over her formidable father, humorless former CIA agent Jack Byrnes, at the wedding of Pam's sister. As Greg bends over backward to make a good impression, his visit to the Byrnes home turns into a hilarious series of disasters, and everything that can go wrong does, all under Jack's critical, hawklike gaze.Jules and Jim
1962-01-23In the carefree days before World War I, introverted Austrian author Jules strikes up a friendship with the exuberant Frenchman Jim and both men fall for the impulsive and beautiful Catherine.A Real Young Girl
1999-04-28Bored and restless, Alice spends much of her time lusting after Jim, a local sawmill worker. When not lusting after him, Alice fills the hours with such pursuits as writing her name on a mirror with vaginal secretions and wandering the fields with her underwear around her ankles. And, in true teenaged tradition, she spends a lot of time writing in her diary.Last Tango in Paris
1972-12-15A recently widowed American begins an anonymous sexual relationship with a young Parisian woman.Mississippi Mermaid
1969-06-18A tobacco planter on Réunion island in the Indian Ocean becomes engaged through correspondence to a French woman he does not know. The woman that arrives does not look like the picture he received, but he marries her anyway.Small Change
1976-03-17Various experiences of childhood are seen in several sequences that take place in the small town of Thiers, France. Vignettes include a boy's awakening interest in girls, couples double-dating at the movies, brothers giving their friend a haircut, a boy dealing with an abusive home life, a baby and a cat sitting by an open window, a child telling a dirty joke, and a boy who develops a crush on his friend's mother.Don't Give Up
2021-01-02Amy was suffering from debilitating depression, until God healed her and helped her reshape her life into something amazing. In DON'T GIVE UP she tells the story of her meeting with Jesus and how it opened her eyes to the gifts around her.World Trade Center
2006-08-09Two police officers struggle to survive when they become trapped beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.The Men
1950-08-25Ken, a WWII GI, returns home after he's paralyzed in battle. Residing in the paraplegic ward of a veteran's hospital and embittered by his condition, he refuses to see his fiancée and sinks into a solitary world of hatred and hostility. Head physician, Dr. Brock cajoles the withdrawn Ken into the life of the ward, where fellow patients Norm, Leo and Angel begin to pull him out of his spiritual dilemma.Marie Antoinette
2006-05-24The retelling of France’s iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 15 to her reign as queen at 19 and ultimately the fall of Versailles.Vanilla Sky
2001-12-14David Aames has it all: wealth, good looks and gorgeous women on his arm. But just as he begins falling for the warmhearted Sofia, his face is horribly disfigured in a car accident. That's just the beginning of his troubles as the lines between illusion and reality, between life and death, are blurred.Don Juan DeMarco
1994-10-12John Arnold DeMarco is a man who believes he is Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world. Clad in a cape and mask, DeMarco undergoes psychiatric treatment with Dr. Jack Mickler to cure him of his apparent delusion. But the psychiatric sessions have an unexpected effect on the psychiatric staff and, most profoundly, Dr Mickler, who rekindles the romance in his complacent marriage.Away from Her
2007-05-04Fiona and Grant have been married for nearly 50 years. They have to face the fact that Fiona’s absent-mindedness is a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. She must go to a specialized nursing home, where she slowly forgets Grant and turns her affection to Aubrey, another patient in the home.Stomp the Yard
2007-05-16After the death of his younger brother, a troubled 19-year-old street dancer from Los Angeles is able to bypass juvenile hall by enrolling in the historically black, Truth University in Atlanta, Georgia. But his efforts to get an education and woo the girl he likes are sidelined when he is courted by the top two campus fraternities, both of which want and need his fierce street-style dance moves to win the highly coveted national step show competition.Shakespeare in Love
1998-12-11Young Shakespeare is forced to stage his latest comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter," before it's even written. When a lovely noblewoman auditions for a role, they fall into forbidden love -- and his play finds a new life (and title). As their relationship progresses, Shakespeare's comedy soon transforms into tragedy.Who Gets the Dog
2007-12-02A drama about a couple on the edge of divorce, their solicitors, their daughter and of course, their dog.The Lamp Still Burns
1943-11-29A tribute to the important work of female nurses during World War II.The Darjeeling Limite...
2007-09-07Three American brothers who have not spoken to each other in a year set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find themselves and bond with each other -- to become brothers again like they used to be. Their "spiritual quest", however, veers rapidly off-course (due to events involving over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray).