It took twelve years for co-writer and director Derek Cianfrance to get his film from page to screen. Emotionally raw, heartbreakingly beautiful and superbly acted Blue Valentine was definitely worth the wait.
Switching between past and present the film tells the story of a couple’s relationship. In the present Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) are married with one young daughter Frankie (Faith Wladyka). But this is a relationship on a downward spiral, with individual expectations dividing the couple. In the past sequences we witness the beginning of the relationship, and the passionate love between dreamer Dean and university student Cindy.
Asking if love is enough, Blue Valentine certainly isn’t a feel-good film (perhaps reconsider this as a date night film, unless you want to face some rather tough ‘relationship’ conversations afterwards). Told with brutal honesty the story unfolds over 48 hours in Dean and Cindy’s marriage, which ultimately proves to be exquisitely sad.
The film’s emotional core is fuelled by the experiences of both Cami Delavigne (writer) and Cianfrance who have cited their parent’s divorce as their inspiration. This film is undoubtedly a project where all the right elements have come into place (eventually) to create something special. The performances, the look and the sound enhance one another creating more and more layers to the story.
Cinematographer Andrij Parekh (Half-Nelson, Cold Souls) works his magic with the film’s visuals. With the past sequences shot on handheld super 16mm film and the present shot on red cameras, the sections are as equally divided by look as tone. While the past sequences seem open, bright and free, the present sequences with their extreme close-ups and more rigid structure seem constricting and claustrophobic, reflecting perfectly the atmosphere in the couple’s relationship.
Toping off the impressive performances and evocative visuals, the sublime soundtrack comes from Brooklyn-band Grizzly Bear, with songs taken from their albums, Yellow House (2008) and Veckatimest (2009). The folky undertones of the band beautifully charts the film’s moods adding sumptuous texture. However perhaps the film is best summed up by a musical performance by Gosling’s character, Dean in a scene where he serenades Cindy (Williams) with “You Always Hurt the One you Love”.
