Blue Valentine

2010 Drama

A relationship is charted from its promising beginning to its sad collapse in this independent drama from Derek Cianfrance. Dean (Ryan Gosling) meets Cindy (Michelle Williams) when they're in their late teens; he's working for a moving company, she's a college student visiting her elderly grandmother at a home for the elderly. Cindy is dating Bobby (Mike Vogel), her boyfriend from high school, but as she gets to know Dean better, a mutual attraction grows between them. Years later, Dean and Cindy are married and have a daughter, Frankie (Faith Wladyka), but they're clearly not as happy as they once were; Dean loves his daughter but feels distant from his wife, they have to look after an elderly relative (John Doman), and when Cindy bumps into Bobby while running errands, it's clear he still holds a grudge against her. Dean and Cindy go away for a weekend together at a hotel, but it doesn't take long for them to realize that the magic isn't coming back. Blue Valentine received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. more..

Director: Derek Cianfrance

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Faith Wladyka, John Doman, Mike Vogel

Reviews

  • Blue Valentine is lushly touching and gorgeously told.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    19 January 2013

  • Gosling and Williams have the most palpable chemistry of any screen couple this year, never striking a false note in this achingly tender tale of a love that implodes before our eyes.

    Claudia Puig - USA Today

    19 January 2013

  • Extraordinary and beautiful.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    19 January 2013

  • Here's one vote for the most affecting, anguishing, revealing and prophetic scene of the movie year-and yes, it's all of those things at once in a powerful film that alternates between moments of earlier happiness and later pain.

    Joe Morgenstern - The Wall Street Journal

    19 January 2013

  • Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams give two of the most explosive and emotionally naked performances you will see anywhere. Just know you're in for a workout.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

    Academy Awards (2011)

     
  • Best Actor

    Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2011)

     
  • Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Low Budget Feature - Drama/Comedy

    Casting Society of America (2011)

     
  • Most Promising Filmmaker

    Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2010)

  • Best Actor

    Chlotrudis Awards (2011)