How do two people so wrong for each other tumble headlong into romance? In his second feature film, Blue Valentine, Derek Cianfrance answers that very question, crosscutting through several years to show the sweet and tender birth of a love that later turns sour. Fueled by astonishing performances, Blue Valentine pulls firmly at the viewer's heartstrings.
Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) are in the midst of a volatile and crumbling marriage, with their adorably plucky daughter Frankie as the only glue left holding their relationship together. Looking for a one-night escape from their plaguing marital problems, the two check into a semi-sleazy themed motel. As Dean tries haplessly throughout the night to rekindle some semblance of a spark, the audience is transported back to earlier and happier days, with each moment from the past perfectly counterbalanced with the present.
Gosling and Williams carry the film like no other pair of actors could. As Dean, Gosling's performance is heartfelt and achingly romantic, from the beginning of the relationship, when he hauntingly warbles "You Always Hurt the One You Love," to his drunken wife, desperate moments at the seedy motel. Although Dean certainly has shed the bright, hopeful yearnings of his youth, Gosling understands that he is not really "the bad guy," tempering even his most outrageous and unabashed moments with a sense of regret. Williams beautifully counters with her portral of Cindy, a woman clearly fed up with her husband's frustrating lack of motivation and a relationship that degrades more than it uplifts. The two work together in perfect, dysfunctional harmony: Just as Cindy reaches a breaking point, Dean finds just the right thing to say to slink back into her good graces.
This tension-filled interplay is enhanced by Cianfrance's clever directorial choices. In moments from the present, Cianfrance opts for tight close-ups, where little else other than the character's faces can be seen in the frame. Interactions between Dean and Cindy are a series of cuts back-and-forth between these shots. The feeling is almost claustrophobic, as we find ourselves uncomfortably in the middle of the couple's turmoil. When the film flashes back in time, Cianfrance loosens the shots, frequently letting both Dean and Cindy occupy the frame as we watch as their innocent meeting evolve into something much deeper.
With Cianfrance boldly thrusting the viewer directly into the heart of the drama unfolding on screen and Gosling and Williams both delivering the performances of their careers, Blue Valentine becomes a truly emotional experience. By the end of the film, we are so invested in the lives of Dean and Cindy that they become real people, whose pain and anguish cuts to the core. Though certainly not an easy film to watch, Blue Valentine is honest in a way that few films have tried to be, and for that, deserves plenty of recognition even amid a star-studded Oscar season.
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