A Movie to Watch: Blue Valentine

I am lucky enough to live in a place where a lot of small independent movies get their first screening once a year at the Sundance Film Festival.  Over two years ago, a little movie called Blue Valentine made some serious waves after it was shown.  Sadly enough, the buzz surrounding the movie made it impossible for locals to get tickets!  After that, its release was delayed due to a ridiculous rating controversy (after you watch the movie you will LAUGH that it had received an NC-17 rating!)

Finally, I was able to watch this amazing movie.  It documents the beginning and the end of a turbulent relationship in a raw and honest way.  The lead characters are far from perfect, even in the rose-colored-lens-beginning many relationships start with.  Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling are heartbreaking as a couple careening towards divorce and beginning a relationship on an incredibly shaky foundation. 

Shug really disliked the movie, because he felt it made relationships look doomed from the get-go, but I disagree.  This portrayed two people fighting and pulling in two totally different directions, even from the beginning!  The credits roll with shots of fireworks superimposed over stills of the lead couple when things were "good," and I feel it was a perfect metaphor for their relationship as a whole.  Theirs was a relationship that burned out bright, hot, and fast, just as volatile as the compounds used to create a breathtaking light show.  And that's what I thought of Blue Valentine: it was beautiful and breathtaking.