The Film
Hollywood loves wrapping up its love stories into one big happy ending. The filmmakers of Blue Valentine do not.
Blue Valentine is about two separate love stories. One is a little bit wild and impulsive, between two very young people. The other one is filled with anguish, boredom, and male pattern baldness. The problem is that both involve Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams), and the two very different stories are the couple's past and present.
The past introduces Cindy as a budding medical student, who has a chance meeting with Dean, a furniture mover with no real life plan. The two begin a whirlwind romance, until Cindy finds out that she has a bun baking in the oven, courtesy of an ex-boyfriend. From there, the two lovers rush into a marriage, which seems like such a good idea at the time. Of course, everything seems like a good idea at the beginning of the relationship. Apparently, the end involves the "Future Room" in a sleazy motel, which has no windows and an endless supply of liquor.
When Blue Valentine first debuted, the MPAA slapped a NC-17 rating on the film, which is usually the kiss of death. The film got downgraded to an R, but the damage was already done, and Blue Valentine just never reached the audience it deserves. Williams did get an Oscar nomination, while Gosling was completely robbed. Writer/director Derek Cianfrance also got nothing. However, a promising career is definitely his consolation prize here. His delivery of this relationship at its two most crucial points is a real winner. What unfolds is not all that unfamiliar to some, but is sweet, heart breaking, and well worth your time.
The Picture
Two cameras were used to convey Blue Valentine's two time periods. The pre-wedding bliss is captured in Super 16mm and the current day is courtesy of a Red One digital camera, giving each one of those eras a completely contrasted appearance. The present day has the obvious sharper image, with intentionally bland but interesting colors, including the heavy blue/gray of the aforementioned Future Room. On the flip side, the Super 16mm material looks like someone's home movies, complete with heavy grain and shaky-cam effects. It's not going to be in your demo pile, but the 1.66:1 transfer pulls off exactly what the filmmaker has intended and provides a lot of punch to this story.
The Sound
Blue Valentine is heavy on low talking, which the DTS-HD Master Audio track delivers pretty well. It's a difficult task, because frankly, when Cindy and Dean aren't yelling, they mumble a lot. For a low-level movie though, the track has more than its share of atmospheric sounds. Right off the bat, we get the chirp of insects, along with traffic, birds, various loud telephones, and even music, which is used a lot throughout the movie.
The Extras
This release isn't flooded with extras, but has a decent selection. Writer/director Derek Cianfrance does most of the talking on the commentary, with co-editor Jim Helton chiming in. There are deleted scenes and a brief making-of short. The real must-see of the crop is "Frankie and the Unicorn," a brief, but sweet home movie featuring Gosling, Williams and the incredibly cute Faith Wladyka, who plays the duo's on-screen daughter.
Final Thoughts
Blue Valentine is a slice of life kind of movie. Unfortunately, it's the slice that was left out on the kitchen counter to rot. That doesn't mean it's a bad film, but it certainly is a depressing one. Williams delivers her usual perfection and Gosling really gets better with every single film. Buck up and watch or you'll miss out on something truly wonderful.
Product Details
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