A word of warning: If you found 500 Days of Summer depressing (despite having a sickly sweet ending), you will not enjoy Blue Valentine. It's quite a relentless look at the start and brutal end of a masochistic relationship. And no cotton candy additional love interests on the way either. Which is probably why I liked it so much.
The film completely relies on the believability of its two leads, but luckily Gosling and Williams have the chemistry of nuclear reactor - affectionate flirting one minute to complete animosity the next. How Gosling evaded an Oscar nod I don't know. The juxtaposition of the Start + End of the relationship is also particularly effective with drip-feeding vital plot points and scene nuances.
Blue Valentine is not an easy watch and it may drag on 10 minutes longer than it should, but the final clincher of the film makes it all worthwhile. It is a side to American life we rarely see on screen, and will no doubt cause controversy with hot potato topics such as abortion, divorce, and domestic violence. And whilst it should be respected for its non-sugar coated storytelling, that's not to say the film doesn't have any fun: the flashback scenes essentially highlight the character's once playful and youthful nature (the ukulele scene is particularly awesome).
Oh yes, and it also has a great soundtrack by Grizzly Bear:
Blue Valentine = my sort of movie
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