Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine, a film directed by Derek Cianfrance, who is also among the film's screenwriters, is an anatomy of a relationship, viewed from its sunny beginning and it's ignominious end. As such, it's well done, particularly the two lead performances by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. But as I left the theater, I really couldn't form a convincing opinion of whether I liked it or not. I suppose my biggest concern was what Cianfrance was trying to say.

Of course, not every movie needs a message; profundity is not required for an enjoyable two hours at the movie. But this film, rendered as carefully as a highly-detailed dollhouse, cries out for it. What Cianfrance seems to have done, whether he intended it or not, is created the blueprint for every relationship. Is he really saying that no matter how sweet the beginning, the end comes sour?

The story follows two lines. There's the present, which kicks things off, as a young girl has lost her dog. Her father (Gosling) helps her look for it. Later we meet the mother, who is a medical technician of some sort. They attend the child's school recital, but not before the canine is discovered, which taps a wellspring of grief. Gosling suggests the two drop off the kid at his grampa's and spend the night in a cheesy sex-theme motel--they end up in the "Future Room," which Gosling says looks the "inside of a robot's vagina."

This is cut with a flashback as to how the two meet (there is no title cards that say something like, "Five years earlier;" I was able to judge what time we were in by the state of Gosling's hairline). We learn that Gosling, a high-school dropout, was working for a moving company, taking extra-care with an elderly customer being moved into a nursing home. While there he meets Williams, who is visiting her grandmother. Through sheer persistence, and a rousing rendition of "You Always Hurt the Ones You Love," he wins her, though she is having a hard time ending a relationship with a bruising college wrestler.

Again, all of this is fine for what it is. Both actors create moving characters, Williams especially. She is a bit more interesting, as she is given more background. We see her overbearing father, and hear about how she likes college. She also shines in a scene in which she goes to an abortion clinic. Gosling has one scene, while having dinner with Williams' family, that delves into his background, but I found I never really understood his character, or beyond that, what destroys the relationship. A scene in which he drunkenly shows up at Williams' job seems out of nowhere, a showy bit of acting that has no basis in what has come before.

I think the problem is that there is no middle in this film. We see the beginning, we see the end, but I at least didn't understand what came in between, and that is the most important part. What went wrong with this couple? I'm not sure.

A few other things--this film can be surprising funny (especially Gosling, whose goofy charm is on full display in the flashback scenes). Also, that the MPAA gave this film an NC-17 rating (for a scene in which Gosling goes down on Williams) should be another nail in the coffin of that increasingly obsolete ratings board.

My grade for Blue Valentine: B-.