Review by Amelia Falcone
Blue Valentine follows Dean and Cindy, a couple five years into their marriage who decide to take a night away from their daughter in order to rekindle their relationship. Integrating clips from their romantic past, this film details the difficulties that come when transitioning from being a young couple into married parents. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams give stellar performances as they show you what it takes to truly be someone’s “valentine.”
Beginning this movie, I had thought I was walking into the typical, happy, romantic film. However, Blue Valentine provides realistic insight into the struggles that accompany a long-term relationship. The film seamlessly combines themes of joy and love with the depression that too often worms its way into a relationship.
The film’s honesty allows viewers to reflect on human emotions that are innate to all people, and watch as a couple tries to inject their now “old” relationship with the passion from their youth. It is also not without humor, as in one line Dean says to Cindy “In my experience, the prettier a girl is, the more nuts she is, which makes you insane.” This film will leave you with a fresh perspective on love.
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About the reviewer: Amelia Falcone has enjoyed working as a Circulation Assistant for Paoli Library since May of 2014. She recently graduated from Immaculata University, achieving a degree in English with minors in both Communication and Film Studies. Typically, she steers towards films that tread off the beaten path, and Blue Valentine was a film that aligned with this interest perfectly—it also helped that Ryan Gosling is so pleasing to the eye!
