Blue Valentine

This past weekend I watched Derek Cianfrance's "Blue Valentine," a romantic drama starring Ryan Gosling ("Drive") as Dean and Michelle Williams ("Dawson's Creek") as Cindy. The two meet at a nursing home where Dean is delivering furniture and Cindy is visiting her grandmother. After a second encounter, Dean proves himself to be a charming goofball to the seemingly innocent Cindy. However, they soon rush into their relationship and six years later their relationship falls apart dramatically.

The movie jumps back and forth between the beginning of their relationship and its end 6 years later, when Cindy is a nurse, Dean is a balding drunk painter, and they have a daughter named Frankie. The two leads give great performances, both of which required great range to show the highs and lows of the characters' romance. Gosling, especially, is able to show his character's transformation from goofball to a loving, yet ignorant husband.

I really enjoyed this film, although watching these two fall out of love was depressing, and in two pivotal scenes, very uncomfortable. I thought the script was great and that the dialogue was realistic. Grizzly Bear, a band that I am not too familiar with, did the soundtrack which fit the movie well. I think that Cianfrance is a good director, and I am looking forward to his future films.