That can be hilarious in the right context. But it also has very serious consequences, as Ryan Gosling demonstrates with his wonderful performance as Dean in "Blue Valentine," a terrifically rendered portrait of a marriage in crisis. Dean is awfully charming, but he can't quite seem to behave like an adult. He drinks too much, he handles his emotions poorly, he twists his wife's words instead of taking her arguments seriously.
From all that, you would think that Dean was the reason his marriage is failing. But it's to the film's great credit that there is no one culprit. In fact, for most of the movie, Dean is the one struggling to keep things together. His wife Cindy (Michelle Williams) married him in large part because she had been impregnated by a jerk she couldn't stand. Dean's affections sparked the relationship and helped keep it going. But one person's love can only do so much.
All of this is largely implied. Dean and Cindy's emotional issues are revealed patiently, naturally. The film also hints at how they've come to be this way. Both are the product of unhappy marriages. Dean's father is a janitor, indicating that he doesn't come from the genes of go-getters. Cindy's father is emotionally abusive, which may be why she started having sex at 13 and seems to fall for the wrong men.
This is storytelling done right. Director Derek Cianfrance is clearly a major talent. But it would all fall apart without the two leads. Gosling and Williams lived together for a month to develop the tension and conflict which comes out on screen. Both helped to develop characters whose actions are frequently deplorable yet completely understandable. Gosling, in particular, is witty and clever and irresponsible all at once. He can be funny, but his immaturity is also more than a little sad.
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