Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) are a young couple whose marriage is in trouble.  In an attempt to salvage the relationship, they spend a night away from their daughter in a motel, but things do not go as well as they had hoped.

Simultaneous with this bleak look at their present lives, we visit the beginnings of Dean and Cindy’s romance, a time filled with music, dance and all the other silly stuff that people do when they are falling in love.

And, then we try to answer the question, what happened to make that all change?

CRITIQUE

When it comes to showing the disintegration of a marriage, I don’t think it was done any better than the breakfast montage in Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane.  That sequence was about two minutes in length and it really said everything you needed to know about why the relationship failed.

In Blue Valentine, director Derek Cianfrance and his co-writers attempt to dig deeper into the reason(s) that love dies and people who have committed their lives to each other part.

He has come up with an excellent, albeit depressing, script that often rings true, and he has elicited superb performances from his actors.  Ms. Williams, in fact, received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role.

On the other hand, despite the emotional grittiness of the piece, the ultimate answer that Cianfrance presents us with is nothing that we haven’t heard before: “People change.  They grow apart.”

As we learn about halfway through the picture, as much as they were in love at the time, Dean and Cindy probably married for the wrong reasons.  Yet, when they finally part, one can’t help but think that this union, with some counseling, could have been saved.

Based on his background (i.e. his parents divorced), I can certainly understand why Cianfrance would want to write/direct this film and, because they are great roles, I can understand  why fine actors like Gosling and Williams would want to play them.

What I can’t understand is, as well made as the picture is, why somebody seeking to be “entertained” would want to see it.

THE VIDEO

The 1.66:1 widescreen picture is sharp and without major flaws.

THE AUDIO

The English 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is very good.

THE EXTRAS

Audio Commentary by director Derek Cianfrance and co-editor Jim Helton.

“Making of” Featurette, featuring interviews with cast and crew.

5 Deleted Scenes

Home Movies shot on the set.

FINAL THOUGHT

The performances and many of the scenes in Blue Valentine may be first-rate, but the film doesn’t really provide a unique insight into marital relationships and, at the end of the day, it is a downer.