“Blue Valentine” (2010)
“Pack your bags baby, we’re going to the future room”.
“Pack your bags baby, we’re going to the future room”.
Born in Lakewood, Colorado, American filmmaker Derek Cianfrance directed five films between 1998 and 2016, and the middle three are bona-fide heartbreakers. I have yet to see his debut film Brother Tied from 1998 and I’ve so far omitted from my viewing schedule his 2012 film entitled Cagefighter, but should you be in the market for a heart shattering couple of cinematic hours, may I direct you to his triple bill immediately linked below or a little skip further on, my rambling musings on his greatest film to date, 2010’s Blue Valentine.
Derek Cianfrance — 3 Bona Fide Heart Breakers!
“Blue Valentine”, “The Place Beyond The Pines” and “The Light Between Oceans”. All lovingly compiled and reviewed…medium.com
“Pack your bags baby, we’re going to the future room”
With a cast of so few characters and many of which melt into the background and provide only minimal cameo appearances, it’s pivotal that the central and joint headline performances from Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams drive the film. And they do so magnificently in this heart breaking tale of loss, growing up and all consuming love in middle America. Written by Director Cianfrance alongside Joey Curtis and Cami Delavigne, the film explores the highs and lows of blossoming love through two deeply layered characters dealing with their personal demons and desperately seeking an almost old fashioned love, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer and for a love that will triumph over all. Presented in a non-linear narrative timeline, the film is rooted in the present as we see two parents already showing signs of their fractured and strained relationship in the film’s earliest scenes but through regular flashbacks we are drawn into their happier and loving times, through their sweet and affecting dating, of a man head over heels in love with a woman and their eventual marriage. There is far, far more but plot spoilers prevent me from elaborating.
From these earliest, present day scenes of the film it quickly becomes evident that the now long married couple are struggling and at odds with each other. Tension and uncertainty fill the opening few minutes and there is an air of them living two distinct lives but anchored by their beautiful daughter “Frankie” (Faith Wladyka). Their entire approach to the coming day is separate from the other as “Dean” (Ryan Gosling) jokes around with his daughter and misjudges a joint attempt at rousing “Cindy” (Michelle Williams) from her sleep. Quickly they each drive to their respective jobs but again the differences between them couldn’t be more apparent, Dean already drinking and driving fast and Cindy far more circumspect and methodical. They remain outsiders and insular, as they were when they first met all those years ago.
“Cindy” (Michelle Williams) Fully deserving of her 2011 Oscar Nomination for Best Actress, this is Michelle Williams’ most accomplished and stellar performance of her career to date. Cindy is seemingly following her parents fractured and unhappy demise of a marriage falling apart and love lost. A nervous yet motivated and ambitious outsider, she dreams of a fulfilling medical career and in addition to her studies, cares for her elderly grandmother. Perhaps given free reign away from her parents it is with her “Gramma” (Jen Jones) that Cindy flowers and questions the nature of love and lifelong relationships with a telling “How do you trust your feelings when they disappear?”. A truly multi layered and stunning portrayal of young love and broken dreams, Cindy’s carefree dancing and flirting with Dean in the second act of the film is sublime.
“Dean” (Ryan Gosling) Seen in the earliest segments of the film as a devoted Father but angry and angst ridden, this is far from the Dean we see portrayed by Gosling in the flashback sequences. There are deeper scars but Dean hides these behind a carefree and free spirited nature. Simple, kind hearted and hard working, this is perfectly encapsulated by his re-decoration of an elderly man’s room in a retirement home and also sets him on the path to his one true love. An outsider who is happy with his lot in life but all the while controlling the inner demons of his past, he falls completely and unequivocally in love with Cindy, come what may. It’s a stark and very open portrayal at times, and Gosling (naturally) excels.
Stand out supporting roles are headed by the youngest cast member Faith Wladyka as the couple’s young daughter “Frankie” and it’s an accomplished performance in a demanding and adult film for someone so young. Cindy’s College love “Bobby” is portrayed by Mike Vogel and the excellent John Doman is superb as “Jerry”.
But this heart breaking love story is brilliantly told through the non linear structure and although both the beginning and the end are rooted in the present, there are wonderful flashbacks woven into the narrative that break your heart still further. All involve our young couple as their love begins to grow and these are brilliantly encapsulated on their wedding day, their elongated cuddle on the back of a bus and the film’s absolute stand out scene, as they flirt, dance and sing in a shop doorway. If that scene doesn’t break your heart, then the ending won’t either, but then again, you clearly have a heart of made of pure stone!
Weaved in amongst these flashbacks are the couple’s present day existence and Dean, desperately wanting to rekindle their love and affection, persuades a reluctant Cindy to go away to a hotel for the evening to “get drunk and make love”. Cindy has no desire whatsoever to do so but reluctantly agrees. Here is my dissection of the three brief segments that encapsulate Cindy and Dean’s relationship as they enter the “Future Room” at the Cindy titled “Cheesy Sex Motel”:
On entering the Future Room or “Robot’s Vagina” as Dean describes it, he in particular is childishly excited at their new environs while Cindy is anything but, immediately fixing herself a drink and complaining at the lack of a fridge or windows in their room. Dean continues to lighten the atmosphere, marvelling at their future room and playing pranks but Cindy remains totally unmoved. Following a telephone call to their daughter Frankie, Cindy escapes for a shower alone but is soon joined by Dean and he tries to seduce her not once but twice, but is rebuked both times.
An exasperated Dean returns to the room after the shower with a bucket of ice and the couple share a barbed but brief conversation as to why he may be “grumpy”. We cut to Dean inserting a CD into the player and trying again to seduce his wife with their song, “You and Me” by Penny and the Quarters. As the song plays out the couple share a cigarette and a drink before dancing to their shared song of many years ago. Dean is in his element, slow dancing with his wife to his favourite song but Cindy remains stiff, unsmiling and as cold as the frosty blue palette of the scene.
When the scene resumes it’s fixed on a close up of a bored and disinterested Cindy, the frosty blue palette of the hotel scene(s) now starkly evident. The camera cuts between the two as they share their evening meal but the tension is palpable and rising by the second. “Why don’t you do something?” Cindy asks candidly, goading Dean into saying that he is simply happy with his lot in life, a job and a beautiful family he adores but for Cindy this isn’t enough. She wants him to explore his talents more, refrain from drinking the minute he awakes in the morning and do something. The bitter exchange ends with Cindy, now more than a little drunk, goading him further “I’d like to see you think about what you say instead of saying what you think” before the scene cuts to a play fight accompanied by The Platters “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”.
Both are now admittedly drunk, with Dean falling over off camera and calling Cindy for her help. Dragging her down to the floor, Dean is showering his wife with affection, repeatedly calling her “love” and “baby” as he tries to seduce her again but in the midst of which he asks her to have another baby with him. Cindy is unmoved and refuses to answer but the couple playfully, then seriously begin to engage in rough and violent love making. This is not what Dean wants and he cannot do it and they part in anger, Cindy barricading herself against the bathroom door while Dean repeatedly asks her to open the door.
A small further hotel scene follows, with Cindy late and rushing for work, leaving a passed out drunk Dean on the hotel floor. When he awakens, he discovers Cindy has left in their car and has left a note. After drinking a considerable amount of leftover vodka, Dean rouses himself and organises transport home. The film continues from here, weaving the present with the past until the film’s heart breaking climax.
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 200 blog articles (with 400+ individual film reviews) within my archives from which to choose:
“Interstellar” (2014)
The Best of Christopher Nolan — Vol 3.medium.com
“The Wrestler” (2008)
“Still jumping off the top rope”.medium.com
“Manchester by the Sea” (2016)
Kenneth Lonergan’s Oscar winning heartbreaker.medium.com