Sep 16, 2011

Blue Valentine [2010]





BLUE VALENTINE [2010]
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Writer: Derek Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne
Starring: Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams

Blue Valentine was one of those movies that I love....the ones whose centre is the character.

Dean and Cindy, the two protagonists, show us their story, going back and forth into their time together. I love the way the script makes those connections between the past and the present so smooth, so meaningful, tying the loose ends together.

During the award season Michelle Williams as Cindy got the better reviews and the acknowledgement for her work, but in my opinion Ryan Gosling just stole the show. He is absolutely fantastic as a young guy, with no bigger plans than just have money to eat and smoke, until he founds Cindy. The way he interprets his part is flawless...it’s not acting, well, it doesn’t seem that way. It all feels so natural, so normal, even the little gestures, like the way he plays with his daughter Frankie. He just proved to me he can do anything and I can’t wait to see more of him.

For some, it might get a little boring, as it doesn’t really have enough action, but the story is so wonderfully told, that I personally loved it. I have to repeat myself and say that the one of the most important things that makes this movie great is the normality of it all, the realness. Like, for example, the scene where Dean makes Cindy listen for the first time their song...it’s not digitally put in the scene, you can hear as if it is played on the stereo.

It is a great film! I recommend it!

What did you think? Who was better: Ryan or Michelle?

8 comments:

  1. Blue Valentine had its moments, like in the bus, the dancing/guitar scene, the "go away, that's a weird name!" scene, the special end credits, other than that, I was actually not too impressed, maybe its more of a film for girls ( :

    If you like Ryan Gosling, he's in tons of movies this year. I've heard Drive with him in the lead has gotten great reviews, and I enjoyed All good things, you can check the trailer here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7_VwoZKPRM

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  2. I agree, Blue Valentine had its moments, but there were definately times when i was bored, but what I liked was the thing that the movie aimed for character development, not really action! It's not my favourite either, but I liked it!

    I am hoping to see Drive soon, so we will see!

    Thanks for the comments! :)

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  3. Loved this movie, too. Would make my year to see Gosling pull an Adrien Brody and win Best Actor against the likes of Firth and Bridges, but that probably won’t happen, and that sucks. And that scene with Gosling playing the ukelele for a tapdancing Williams was the best damn scene of the year. What a painfully honest movie, but damn was it good. Great review.

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  4. I'm glad you liked it Dan, thanks for the comment!

    I don't know about you, but I can't write the same kind of reviews for all the movies I see: some I can write about for pages, analyzing every detail because they are made to make you think and appreciate it, others I just can't say more then 200, 300 words.

    I'm probably posting tomorrow the review for Revolutionary Road, one of my favourites, in which I really discuss the character development! Hope you like it!

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  5. Frankly, I haven't a clue how or why Gosling was nominated for this. I thought it was the best male acting performance of last year, and I'm still baffled by his Oscar exclusion.

    Now, that isn't meant to take away from Michelle, she totally nailed it, but I guess Gosling's character was just to... real for voters?

    He'll get there this year; he's brilliant in Drive.

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  6. I just rewatched this a couple weeks ago. Absolutely heartbreaking (and superb) film. Gosling and Williams are quite simply pitch perfect and it's a shame the former didn't at least get an Oscar nod for his work here.

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  7. @Alex Withrow: I think the Academy doesn't really like to nominate that many young actors each year, so I am hoping this year will be better!

    @Castor: It is a great film, I loved their interaction on camera, it seemed so natural, as if they were really a couple for years!

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