Blue Valentine

Ok so I’m very late jumping on this band wagon. And yes it’s the only film of his I've seen this year (or ever) but OMG I heart Ryan Gosling. Seriously: hook, line, sinker. This dude can act. After seeing Blue Valentine at the weekend I am rapidly on the case sorting my next fix (Ides of March, Half Nelson or Drive...all of the above). The film is a harrowing sequence of flashbacks between adolescent infatuation and the struggles of an unhinged marriage. Intimacy conflicts with awkward marital routines where our leads lose touch with themselves and each other.

Dean (Ryan Gosling) a genuine, easy going guy, VERY easy on the eyes lacks any real career ambition (he starts out working for a removal company and later as a part time painter/ decorator) but takes on his chance encounter with Cindy (Michelle Williams) with everything he’s got.

What he’s got is a whole lot of character, undeniably likable for his creative, quirky quips, ukulele, shades and eagle jumper. A simple guy but one who has layers, devoting himself to Cindy from the beginning. Williams plays a complete contrast, as through time Cindy removes herself physically and emotionally, and the couple prolong an unequalled affection.

Whilst there are no shockers, disturbing moments flitter through the script (the age at which Cindy loses her virginity, the number of sexual partners she's had, implications of a violent upbringing). Clearly Dean is unlike any guy she has met and worlds apart from her condescending, meatloaf smashing, arsehole father. He is a support, a stronghold and shhhmokin’ hot. I’d so let him take me to the Future Room. 

Dean's outlook is infectious. Damn it he's just a nice guy, and achingly so! His role as house husband and playmate to their daughter accentuates Cindy’s frustration with being the disciplinarian. Williams plays this to a T and carries her part emotively. Her carriage and mannerisms are totally credible.

The cinematography, soundtrack and stunning performances are numbingly astounding. Rousing in every sense, the film also brings up challenging questions: Can you change the course of a failing relationship? Can you go on loving knowing that your not loved in return, the way that you yourself love?

Director Derek Cianfrance really captures the fragments of two people and the effect of choices made and opportunities missed. It’s poignant, vast, void, dark, undeceiving and unashamed. I LOVE IT. This track ‘You and Me’ by Penny and The Quarters finds the two but also fails them. So beautiful, it gives me goose bumps.