As embarrassing as it is, I admit that Dawson's Creek was a weekly habit for me and most other 13 year olds at the time... I remember seeing James van der Beek in Rules of Attraction (and to a lesser extent Katie Holmes in Go) and thinking: it's about time these kids were exposed to reality... Michelle Williams has had numerous minor roles, some more down to earth than others, but nothing has made me feel so much for her on screen as Blue Valentine. Ryan Gosling was equally as surprising, and together they have managed to turn a rather clichéd story of love on the rocks into a beautiful and un-pretentious drama.
The film is divided into the past and the present; the start of their blossoming relationship is intertwined with the spiraling end. This pulls the audiences emotions back and forth between each scene which creates a painful ride; more so than what a conventional timeline would for this story. Visually the film looks great, I do love a bleak color palate, and I know I've ranted about this before but a $1m budget just proves you can do so much with a comparatively small amount of money.
It's a matter of contention but I left this film feeling like Cindy (Williams) had wronged Dean (Gosling). I have yet to hear many comments from females but I'm assuming that they may feel the opposite. Looking back at the story objective, they were both in the wrong and director Derek Cianfrance may have intended it to be that way. Personally I felt Dean loved both Cindy and her daughter, and it wasn't fair to leave him simply because he wasn't "reaching his full potential". Oh yeah, spoilers...
Just for shits and giggles I've used the Thai promotional poster. It actually combines one of the standard poster designs with a promo photo shoot image.
I watched Blue Valentine a few weeks ago and I thought that Cindy was wrong in the end, too. Love never lasts if one of the partners doesn't want to change and better himself/herself first. That is why we hear of so many relationships beginning beautifully and ending horribly.
ReplyDeleteShe never gave him a chance, she forgot how their love started and only cared for her own happiness. However, Dean was partially wrong, too, because he took her for granted.
All in all, a very beautiful film, I agree.
Good blog by the way, hope you'll write more