Blue Valentine

⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

This was our Valentine's pick this year. How could we go wrong? It's right in the name! And while I thought this was a pretty good movie - a great one at times - it is perhaps not the right one for Valentine's.

This one features Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as a couple, cycling through modern day where their marriage is falling apart, and the past when they first met and electricity is in the air. Both parts are super effective, the past being quite irresistible, and modern day being quite excruciating. It feels real, in a sense, though it made me thankful for my own marriage. So much could be avoided if they just talked to each other!!

This movie is hard to recommend because it is quite sexual and uncomfortable. I think it's necessary to explore how sexuality factors into relationships, but it was hard to watch and we actually had to skip through parts. It also explores stuff like how kids effect things, how alcohol factors in. It all felt very real, especially within the context of lower-middle class US. It was painful to watch, yet you can't help but start to see yourself in these characters in some ways.

So yeah, overall kinda a brilliant movie, with (minor spoilers) a bit of an ambiguous ending. I keep thinking of those Bo Burnham lyrics "if you want love, lower your expectations a few cause Prince Charming would never settle for you." It's so true in this movie, but it kinda forces you to ask what the boundaries are for that. Pretty thought provoking.