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Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Faith Wladyka, John Doman, Mike Vogel ... see more see more... , Marshall Johnson , Jen Jones , Maryann Plunkett , James Benatti , Barbara Troy , Carey Westbrook , Ben Shenkman , Eileen Rosen , Enid Graham , Ashley Gurnari , Jack Parshutich , Samii Ryan , Mark Benginia , Timothy Liveright , Tamara Torres , Robert Russell , Michelle Nagy , Felicia Reid , Mel Jurdem , Alan Malkin , Derik Belanger , Isabella Frigoletto , Madison Ledergerber , Jaime Jensen

A relationship is charted from its promising beginning to its sad collapse in this independent drama from Derek Cianfrance. Dean (Ryan Gosling) meets Cindy (Michelle Williams) when they're in their la... read more read more...te teens; he's working for a moving company, she's a college student visiting her elderly grandmother at a home for the elderly. Cindy is dating Bobby (Mike Vogel), her boyfriend from high school, but as she gets to know Dean better, a mutual attraction grows between them. Years later, Dean and Cindy are married and have a daughter, Frankie (Faith Wladyka), but they're clearly not as happy as they once were; Dean loves his daughter but feels distant from his wife, they have to look after an elderly relative (John Doman), and when Cindy bumps into Bobby while running errands, it's clear he still holds a grudge against her. Dean and Cindy go away for a weekend together at a hotel, but it doesn't take long for them to realize that the magic isn't coming back. Blue Valentine received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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75% liked it

47,445 ratings

Critics

88% liked it

181 critics

R, 1 hr. 54 min.

Directed by: Derek Cianfrance

Release Date: December 29, 2010

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DVD Release Date: May 10, 2011

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Stats: 4,599 reviews

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Michelle Williams & Ryan Gosling Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams RYAN GOSLING AND MICHELLE WILLIAMS Blue Valentine Blue Valentine Ryan Gosling RYAN GOSLING Blue Valentine Ryan Gosling Blue Valentine Michelle Williams Michelle Williams RYAN GOSLING AND MICHELLE WILLIAMS Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams Blue Valentine Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams RYAN GOSLING AND MICHELLE WILLIAMS RYAN GOSLING AND MICHELLE WILLIAMS
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Flixster Reviews (4,599)

  • paulsandberg
    May 11, 2012
    paulsandberg
    In Blue Valentine all the ingredients are there for a memorable film - terrific acting from the two main characters, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams; some very arty and imaginative camera work; a story that is packed with emotional punch... and yet, while good, this film fails... read more to be great, never quite reaching the emotional punch that the very well filmed ending aimed for.

    Without revealing anything out of the ordinary, I'll mention that the film starts out with a scene in present day involving the loss of the family dog (where you witness how easily Gosling interacts with his daughter, and how tension lies just beneath the surface between he and Williams). From there the story moves slowly forward, while backtracking to fill in the blanks concerning who these two are, and what they were. I was amazed how Gosling in particular pulled off the difference in age, with glasses and receding hairline.

    There are some background scenes that I found superfluous - especially those concerning William's old high school boyfriend, and I found the big deal scene at the motel, while raw, ultimately falling short of "Leaving Lost Vegas" greatness. On a side note, I've never understood the compulsion of wanting to "get wild", meaning go to a hotel, get drunk, and then have sex. I get the hotel and sex thing, but, if you're trying to reconnect with your mate, why do you have to get drunk to do it? To me that would just get in the way of any true emotion and connection... but what do I know?

    In the end, you have a familiar tale concerning falling out of love. The film tries to examine how this can happen, and while not a revelation, does an adequate job of showing how, after time, things become rote to the point where you don't really hear what the other person is saying, and subsequently are put off by bullet point words, instead of trying to understand or appreciate the emotional content of what's behind the words. As Williams says towards the film's end, "blah, blah, blah", indicating that she "thinks" she's heard it all before. Odd that I found her character the "cold" one, while Gosling came across as much more straightforward, if perhaps needy. As he observes to a friend early in the film, "men are the ones more into true love than a woman. A guy thinks he'll never find "the one", and then wham, that's it, she's the one, while a woman will get to a certain point and then "settle". You know, it's like she's weighing her options... he's got a decent job and he's not bad looking." The film makes it clear that Gosling truly loves his family, though you're not quite sure about Williams - which makes that earlier proclamation an insightful one. Perhaps if I felt that Williams loved Gosling as much as he obviously loves her, the film would have had more impact for me; though I will admit that the very last scene still brought a tear to my eye; yet probably not for the reason intended by the script.

    If I could I'd rate this a 75... just for the record.
  • sanjurosamurai
    February 22, 2012
    sanjurosamurai
    well shot, well acted, and with near perfect dialogue. with all that going for it one would think the film was excellent. the problem is that the story itself wasnt the least bit convincing. the falling in love story was great, i can see why they loved each other. the falling... read more out of love story was non existent. cindy was the more intolerable character, and she was the one who had the breakdown. dean wasnt perfect, but overall he was a decent guy who loved his family, and nowhere in the film do we see where that wasnt good enough for cindy. i just wasnt convinced by any of it.
  • 3niR
    October 9, 2011
    3niR
    It's one of the heartbreaking truth of real life. Love seems amazing at first. The world will look colorful and a happy place to live in. But when you start to take your love ones for granted, it will backfire. I actually felt bad for Dean whereas he sacrificed so much. Not every... read more love story meant to have happy ending I guess. I would have given it at least 4 stars but I don't like sad ending. Not my cup of tea.
  • emilebond007
    September 12, 2011
    emilebond007
    This movie hurt me with its breathtaking truth in every frame. This is a very frustrating film to see and I don't think everybody will fully understand how human it managed to be. The direction and screenplay seem to make it look hopeless, but yet it happens to be more hopeful ... read morethan any other romantic comedy that tries to talk about love.
    This movie hits you hard, only because it is so true. Acknowledge that or don't, but it'll hurt in the end.
  • jamers2011
    August 28, 2011
    jamers2011
    Great film! Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling are both stunning...
  • CreedsDelight
    July 30, 2011
    CreedsDelight
    Dean: In my experience, the prettier a girl is, the more nuts she is, which makes you insane.

    I quite liked Blue Valentine. It's a step away from the films that I usually see, which was great. It gave me an unexpected rom-com, seeing how I went in not knowing anything about it. ... read moreWhat director Derek Cianfrance accomplishes is his way of traveling back and forth from happy to sad events in the lives of an unhappy married couple. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling are very solid in their roles, delivering a very emotional performance as a "couple". All in all, Blue Valentine is an honest depiction of human emotion. Highly recommended.

    Read more reviews at www.CreedsDelight.com
  • blacksheepboy
    July 18, 2011
    blacksheepboy
    A careful pace and three-dimensional characters are what makes this film so realistic and hard not to relate to. What a wonderful story, bitter and painful, it is a perfectly sincere portrait of a relationship in collapse and how the weight of real life can irremediably damage th... read moree happy ending dream of a couple living together.
  • puffchunk
    July 15, 2011
    puffchunk
    I will hand it to them. They did an excellent job of making their relationship seem bright and cheery at first, and just loveless and awful in the end. However, I also have to say that watching a movie that makes you feel trapped in a loveless marriage is quite depressing.
  • cosmo313
    July 10, 2011
    cosmo313
    I couldn't see this working the way it does if it wasn't an indie film. That gives the film the ability to be as raw and gritty as it is. As a result, the film is more succcessful at trying to be a realistic look at the dissolution of a relationship.

    I didn't totally buy the fil... read morem or the characters, and wasn't completely sold on shifting back and forth in time, but aside from that, I did like this movie. Maybe the fact that it's not glamorous, and that it can be hard to watch is a sign that it is successful.

    The performances and music are good. It's hard to really completely root for either lead, but they both have the chops for this and pull it off nicely. As far as the music, well, it's not the kind of thing I want to listen to all the time, but it is good, and seemed to fit things decently. I also liked how this film was shot, even though, as I said, I wasn't too big on the time shifting.

    This isn't a totally masterpiece, but it's not too indie for it's own good either. It does seem a tad meandering, and I could have used some better justification for why things went sour, but I liked it enough to give it a mild recommendation, even if this isn't a film I really want to watch repeatedly.
  • SirPant
    July 4, 2011
    SirPant
    Blue Valentine is pretty mundane when you think about it, there is nothing extraordinary about it, it is very real and very raw. It is extremely heart-wrenching at times not to mention emotionally draining to the point of exhaustion, the conclusion is devastating and and it will ... read moreprobably make you want to cry. I have to say it is one of the best films I've seen in quite a while. It is genuine and honest but it's not all bad news, the scene in the doorway where Ryan Gosling sings and Michelle Williams dances is truly wonderful and has shot right up to the top section of my 'favourite scenes of all time' list. The two actors do such a brilliant job, I couldn't see any other two actors pulling off what they did to be honest. The fireworks were a good metaphor at the end, I really hope that this isn't just a firework from Derek Cianfrance though. Highly recommended!

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Critic Reviews

Rafer Guzman
February 11, 2011
Rafer Guzman, Newsday

Blue Valentine has a rare emotional intensity. There is no way to prepare for its final frames, inevitable as they are. Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz
January 19, 2011
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

A searing portrait of the disintegration of not just a marriage but, more importantly, the love that once fueled it. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 16, 2011
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

An autopsy of a failed marriage, it contrasts the giddy honeymoon beginning with the sad denouement after dysfunction has devastated the groundwork of hope and newness. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
January 14, 2011
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Blue Valentine comes on like a bittersweet cautionary tale. Full Review

Tom Long
January 14, 2011
Tom Long, Detroit News

It's not an easy movie, but it is a powerful, unforgettable experience. Full Review

J. R. Jones
January 14, 2011
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling tear up the screen. Full Review

Rick Groen
January 14, 2011
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

The performances are as raw as the characters. Full Review

Colin Covert
January 13, 2011
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Bright-eyed youth and bedraggled adulthood alternate in a sad spectacle beautifully and sensitively portrayed. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
January 7, 2011
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

Almost unbearably harrowing but also deeply cathartic, as viewers create their own meanings within Dean and Cindy's singular downward spiral. Full Review

Michael Phillips
January 7, 2011
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

The best of it plays like an acting exercise that serves the intimate, often bruising relationship at the core. Gosling seems to be pulling from an impressive bag of performance tricks, Williams from ... Full Review

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    • Dean: You said for better or for worse. You said that. You said it. It was a promise. Now, this is my worst, okay? This is my worst. But I'm gonna get better.
    • Dean: I like how you can compliment and insult somebody at the same time, in equal measure.
    • Dean: I feel that men are more romantic than women. When we get married we marry like one girl cause we'll resist it, the whole way. Till we meet one girl and we think, 'I'd be an idiot if I didn't marry this one girl, she's so great'. But seems like girls get to a place where they decide and pick... pick the best options, or something. Like, I know a girls who get married and they're like 'he's got a good job...'. I mean, they spend their whole life looking for Prince Charming and then they... they marry the guy that's got a good job and he's gonna stick around.
    • Dean: But I'm not getting old.
    • Cindy: Oh really?
    • Dean: He's a dummy for dying.
    • Cindy: Walter's a dummy for dying?
    • Dean: Yeah.
    • Cindy: What are you gonna do wise guy?
    • Bobby: Not do it.
    • Dean: You know I just talked to your Grandmother? That sounds weird, huh?
    • Cindy: Yeah!
    • Dean: Ok, let me put it into context.
    • Dean: In my experience, the prettier a girl is, the more nuts she is, which makes you insane.
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