Blue Valentine - A-

In theaters. Rated R, 114 minutes. Trailer.

Alternating between funny and tragic, Blue Valentine tells the love story of Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) through a non-linear structure and earnest, raw performances and direction. We meet the couple on the downward side of their love, raising their daughter in a trailer home. Dean is a romantic but ambitionless working class painter (complete with Giving Tree and 'heart on sleeve' tattoos) and Cindy is a smart middle-class nurse with low self-esteem and a cold personality. The dynamics of their characters and their relationships are revealed in reverse chronological order in the film, though it feels natural, not gimmicky. Click below for more on BV:

Cindy can't fake it anymore and Dean's suffocating lack of drive makes her resent his goofy charm and over-the-top fathering and loving of her. Dean smokes in every scene of the film and wears sunglasses 90% of the time. Early in the film, as he talks with a co-worker (at a moving company), he says that guys fall in love with one woman and are really the romantics, while women are always able to choose and basically just make a choice when they are ready to get married. This theme plays out in the film, and along the way we are treated to great dialogue and acting.

The film is much less depressing or erotic than advertised. There are several laugh out loud lines delivered by Dean throughout the film, and the sex scenes are not "lap pillow" necessary at all. Essentially it is a portrait of a failed romance, with lots of commentary about class, fathers, family, self-esteem, ambition and gender roles along the way. It also explores the disconnect between the initial rush of new love and the realities of marriage, children and responsibilities. I really liked this film - it has a great handheld look with some of the most 'real' scenes and performances of the year.