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SPOILERS***

Fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce, which means fifty percent of America will probably connect with Blue Valentine on a deeper level. Throw in the percentage of people who have witnessed a crumbling marriage that never ended, and then include all those who actually went through either scenario. In any case, almost anyone can relate to the self-destructive nature of family, but hardly anybody has an antidote or can explain such devastation. Much like trying to define love and what makes that special person “the one”, explanations for what tears families apart varies from scenario to scenario. But more exasperating is our inability to pinpoint the problem, or understand exactly why two people can fall in love and eventually become complete strangers.

This very idea is explored in Blue Valentine. Well, as much as you can explore a problem with no definitive answer. Director/writer Derek Cianfrance clearly went through some sort of trauma involving romance because, although each marriage is different, there are always the subtle tell-tale signs. As somebody who witnessed a divorce, some of the situations felt all too familiar to me. Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) talk to each other without making eye contact; Cindy takes insults without hesitation, as though they are a part of the conversation; Dean tries to engage in romance, but Cindy always seems claustrophobic when near him, desperate for space; Cindy only smiles when others are around, but morose when alone with Dean. You recognize all these things, which isn’t particularly enervating, but when compared alongside flashbacks of the two’s first days together and coupled with a pair of dynamite performances, and the story become downright depressing.

Cindy and Dean constantly seem indifferent to one another, and only engage in an emotional discussion when it involves a fight. Compared to the beginning of their relationship, where each and every conversation was one of passion and revelations, and you recognize how far they’ve come. Cianfrance’s attention to detail makes these transitions all the more poignant, such as when Dean visits a man in a nursing home. He walks out the door, looks up and smiles, and then the camera cuts away to Cindy in the present. Of course Dean is looking at Cindy in the past, ignited by her youth and passion. But now Cindy better exemplifies a zombie, moving through work and grinding through the daily tasks. In the past, work was a distraction where the couple moved through quickly and rushed home to each other. In the present, Cianfrance takes the labor of subjecting us to their daily activities, concentrating on the meticulous tasks that seem innocuous: driving to work, smoking a cigarette, painting a wall, filling out forms. But really, these activities have become priority, filling the void young and exciting romance once stood.

The flashbacks and flash-forwards don’t represent the six year gap where the marriage decayed, but it almost seems redundant to discuss. I’ve read critics who disapprove of such a method, but why? Films like Revolutionary Road relish in such a period because of physically depressing situations. *REVOLUTIONARY ROAD SPOILERS* When April self-performs an abortion and dies because of it, it’s absolutely devastating, yet speaks volumes about her crumbling marriage with Frank. But it’s also a unique circumstance, more able in eliciting on-the-spot emotion and much more filmable. ***SPOILERS*** Dean and Cindy’s story isn’t filled with physically devastating scenarios, but instead it’s filled with much more familiar circumstances, where time simply tears away at the fabric. To be frank, the six year gap is completely unimportant. Blue Valentine exists in the moment, choosing to exist in two moments instead of one. Instead of one large story, it’s two stories that speak larger volumes about each other.

If you thought the color blue wouldn’t be a prominent mood setter in Blue Valentine, then you weren’t aware of the kind of movie you were getting into. Relating a melancholy, unavoidable vacuum, blue surrounds Cindy and Dean in their darkest moments. Even when they’re fighting, the mood seems destitute, deprived of any signs of life and pointing towards a tragic end. In the past, blue engulfs the first night Cindy and Dean spend together, yet somehow the mood seems light and adventurous. But the lurking color of blue in the past is accompanied by the color blue in the present, where dancing together represents two completely different couples in each scene. Other cool colors flood the background, and the setting itself almost becomes a character, acting as the outsider witnessing a couple who once couldn’t get enough of each other, but now moves through life without any memory of the past.

All of nuances that signal their crippling marriage simply wouldn’t be effective in the hands of the wrong actors. Gosling and Williams, who each typically take up roles involving realistic, in-the-flesh characters, display a chemistry that is unmatched by any pair of actors in the last ten years. We usually use “chemistry” to describe two individuals who fall in love, which is actually quite astonishing in Blue Valentine, as Gosling and Williams play off each other like two youths completely head over heels. But their range is put to the test when they alternatively occupy a couple dealing with years of strain. Of course they pull it off, being two of the best currently working actors. But their subtleties go a long way, such as Williams’ long, empty stares, or the desperateness in Gosling’s plea to save their marriage.

I read a review where it was suggested the film explored two different relationships, not a single one. While there’s no fucking way that’s true, I think it speaks volumes. This just may prove the reviewer grew up in a happy home, but it also displays the blatant disconnectedness employed by the film. There’s no wrap-ups, explanations or Hollywood endings, because it simply doesn’t exist. My parents split up after 26 years of marriage, and in that time, they went from lovestruck youths to two people who tolerated each other for the sake of their children. Similarly, I can’t answer why Dean and Cindy split up, but neither can they. Blue Valentine may not seem so, but it’s a brave film because it tackles a story with no answers. Dean doesn’t want marriage to end, but for Cindy, it never began. And neither of them understands marriage, or love for that matter. And as we’re left with that iconic image of the fireworks exploding as Dean walks away from Cindy, we’re reminded that none us know the answer. Love starts with sparks, then takes us in indeterminable and exciting directions, but eventually explodes and fades away into nothing. The feeling you’re left with is unavoidable and piercing, and it’s a feeling experienced when the credits roll in Blue Valentine. If that’s not an indicator for a great film, I don’t know what is.

Read more reviews at http://cinemabeans.blogspot.com/

Painstakingly realistic and deeply emotional study of the joy and heartbreak of love and marriage, with a never better Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams portraying the end and (in mesmerizing flashbacks) beginning of a love affair. Director Derek Cianfrance uses a tried and true indie film-making model (close ups, long takes, hand held camera) to weave his Cassavettes-like tale, with lovely, spare songs and compositions by New York indie fuzz heroes Grizzly Bear adding to the devastatingly sad inevitability of the relationship.

Official Review on my site

It’s a very rare moment that occurs only in some film viewings that a thought arises in one’s mind of similar awareness: ‘Why am I only now realizing the magnitude of these image’s vast truths?’ Derek Cianfrance has created a film which explores the mysteries of modern day relationships and why, if love is such a pure and honest entity, why does it fade? It is an important quality, although not absolutely necessary, that a film finds a relevant stance in which to associate itself to its audience. The topic of relationships, more specifically marriages, is one that cannot be denied has found its way to the lives of most Americans. A clear cut example can be shown with how more than 50% of marriages in today’s society are ending in unhealthy divorce battles. But why, we ask? Or at least, as little children, we ask ‘How come Mom and Dad stopped loving each other?’ when the love had to have been there at one point? A great line from Blue Valentine is when Michelle Williams’ character Cindy confronts her grandmother about the curiosity dealt with in feelings, and why one should trust them if they seem to disappear so effortlessly. Apart from these topics of great concern, which is enough to attract one to see this film, Blue Valentine is magnificently well-made, covering roughly six years of Cindy and Dean’s (Ryan Gosling) relationship from the very moment they lay eyes on each other, to the very last moment their relationship has reached the final stage of their marriage’s disintegration.

Thank you for reading,
Omar Antonio Iturriaga

Toujours attendu de ce côté de l’atlantique, Blue Valentine de Derek Cianfrance est précédé d’une bonne réputation depuis le Festival de Cannes. On le cite souvent – à tort – comme le penchant indé et pessimiste de (500) days of Summer. Multi-nominé aux Golden Globes, il fut moins représenté aux Oscars – qui accumulent les choix illégitimes – mais a eu une carrière plus qu’honorable aux Etats-Unis, ayant conquis à la fois le public et la critique.

L’ayant patiemment attendu depuis plusieurs mois, sa sortie française ayant été plusieurs fois reportée, j’ai finalement craqué et ai contourné le problème pour pouvoir enfin visionner ce joli petit film réunissant l’irrésistible Ryan Gosling et l’actrice montante Michelle Williams. Blue Valentine combine plutôt astucieusement flash-backs et instants présents, moments de bonheur léger et scènes plus douloureuses, pour nous raconter la romance disloquée et déchirante de Dean et Cindy qui ne parviendront pas à sauver leur mariage malgré la bonne volonté de l’un comme de l’autre (enfin, surtout de l’un!).

Leur rencontre est aussi douce, touchante et charmante que leur rupture sera amère et difficile. La complicité et la symbiose des deux acteurs paraissent tellement naturelles qu’elles nous donnent quasiment l’impression d’assister à cette histoire qui se terminera dans un feu d’artifice – au sens propre et non figuré – amenant un générique final juste sublime dont on en ressort plutôt émerveillé, triste et nostalgique, bien qu’un peu frustré après avoir vu un film qui, débarrassé de quelques faiblesses scénaristiques ou de mise en scène, aurait pu être grandiose.

Blue Valentine, tragédie romantique et charnelle, où le spectateur ressent avec énormément d’empathie tant la légèreté du sentiment amoureux que la douleur déchirante et intime d’une histoire qui va dans le mur. Un film de cœurs brisés bouleversant, porté par le talentueux et charismatique Ryan Gosling aux côtés d’une Michelle Williams meurtrie et touchante, que le réalisateur réussit à rendre presque universel et qui serait davantage le pendant américain de Ça commence par la fin que celui de (500) jours ensemble. Pour ceux qui voudraient le voir, il faudra être encore un peu patient (chose que je n’ai pas pu faire) et attendre le 15 Juin pour le voir enfin débarquer sur les écrans français.

Title: Blue Valentine
Year: 2010
Country: USA
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Romance
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Writers:
Derek Cianfrance
Cami Delavigne
Joey Curtis
Cast:
Ryan Gosling
Michelle Williams
Faith Wladyka
John Doman
Mike Vogel
Ben Shenkman
Carey Westbrook
Rating: 7/10

This melancholiac drama starts from a similar premise of a missing dog, unlike in WENDY AND LUCY (2008), instead of looking for her dog, Michelle Williams is unenthusiastically to make her last effort to rescue her almost-collapsing marriage with Ryan Gosling, this time, what is missing here is her flickering affection to him, which once literally existed.

Close-up shots, the ochre-mustard-indigo palette, rookie director Derek Cianfrance upgrades his documentary backdrops and confidently spreads into relationship-kills-the-energy realm with an incisive assessment, the aspiration to stick/split polarity between the weary couple throbbingly causes anguish not only to the characters but also to the audience. The incessant before/after marriage texture turns out well operated, yet all the inconsequential conversations saps all my initial exuberant verve. In this case, I would rather prefer 500 DAYS OF SUMMER (2009) with my clarification that I am not trying to eschew from the innateness of life, but simply the latter suits me better both spiritually and mentally.

The two-hander performance is unquestionably Oscar-worthy, especially Michelle, her intrepid interpretation of a mundane girl who is desperately to escape the marriage plight which is strangling her entire life. With regard to Ryan, selfishly I think he is some sort of too smug and appealing for his role as an “underestimated” mover. Both actors’ transitions from lovers to couple were honed to near-perfection, their roles are trite but more visceral and earthly in an audience’s eyes.

The film is distressful for any lovebirds who are still in the head-over-feet status and once again evinces the complexities of human being’s deep consciousness, we never know the exact moment when we lost or will lose that feeling, which makes me most dispirited, as anyhow I still bear a scientific heart inside.

A really well made film that alternates between the story of how a couple got together and their break up. In conception a bit like 5 × 2 by Ozon in feel a bit like Cassavettes.

The film is concerned with the subtext and undercurrents of the character’s relationships and both actors add so much to this with believable intimate performances. I thought it was a great up until the ending, which felt a little flat, I’m not sure why. Maybe because the resolution feels like a bad compromise for both characters rather than a positive decision that they make. Though it was probably the right one given the state of things! Also the end titles which are glossily animated felt very artificial and Hollywood, pasted on the end of this social-realist drama.

However the performances are so engaging and kudos to the director and actors for that. I really think that both actors are supremely talented. Michelle William’s bares her soul and Ryan Gosling gives real depth to what could have been a one dimensional character.

I read that the director wrote the film twelve years ago and when it was finally green light felt it was so stale that he wanted the actors to improvise each scene around the scenario instead. I think this is what gives it such naturalism. Also he made them live together and separately in character for a time, which seems pretty unusual. Overall a film of great performance and tone.

this review on my blog…

There are some films that manage to simultaneously warm the hearts of moviegoers and break them. “Blue Valentine,” the first major film from writer/director Derek Cianfrance, plays tug of war with your heart for its entire running length. It is a stunning debut from Cianfrance that takes a familiar tune and strips it down to its most raw and unflinching form. This is a film that lives and breathes, as we experience the flames of love being extinguished before our very eyes by the harsh realities of life.

“Blue Valentine” stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, two of Hollywood’s most talented and courageous actors, in a very low-budgeted, non-Hollywood film that centers on the rise and fall of a young couple’s relationship, as they fall out of love after years of marriage.

The film begins in the present, and then skips back and forth through time, showing the young couple at two different times in their relationship, from first time that they met to their now doomed and dissolving marriage. Structurally, this can sometimes be a distracting and confusing ploy to make a story of falling romance seem more interesting than it is. That is not the case here, and the film is wonderfully edited.

Gosling plays Dean, once a childish but devoted guy who has no big plans for the future except to keep on living each day, waiting for whatever the world has in store for him. He is a nice guy, but as the films reverts the present, we see that being a nice guy is not enough to sustain a happy marriage.

Dean’s tendency to sit back and be content eventually becomes too much for Cindy (Williams) to deal with. She is a charismatic girl in the beginning who wants to be a doctor one day. When she meets Dean for the first time in the nursing home where her grandmother lives, and where Dean, working for a moving company, is moving in an elderly man, their eyes connect. In that moment, the two actors make us believe that this is something special.

These scenes in the past are so wonderfully acted, as the naïve and passionate lovers connect and embrace, make love and share each other’s dreams. These passages in the film make it all the more painful when we are reminded of the present, where the passion and honesty are dissolving at a rapid pace. They also have a daughter named Frankie (Faith Wladyka) who was not planned, but who is accepted and loved deeply by her feuding parents.

Told in a linear fashion, “Blue Valentine” would lose a lot of its substance. The big question of what went wrong is never explicitly answered, and who is to say that there is one answer? There is so much authenticity and power in the performances, particularly Williams, who does the most challenging and brilliant work of her career. To pull off the small jump in age (10 or 15 years) that she and Gosling perform effortlessly here seem like it would be incredibly difficult. We are so emotionally invested in Dean and Cindy’s lives that we don’t doubt it for a second.

“Blue Valentine” stirred up quite a controversy in the movie world when it initially earned an NC-17 rating from the MPAA for a scene of explicit sexuality. After a successful petition, the rating was rightfully dropped to an R. It’s a silly thought that in our society, movies like “Piranha 3D” and “Saw” that contain such gratuitous violence can pass with R-ratings, but as for sexuality (GOD, LET IT NOT BE SO!) there is so little tolerance to spare.

This film is a work of art that realizes that in life, there are few easy paths to take. Many questions go unanswered and many days pass unremarkably. Cianfrance and his two stars handled the material through much improvisation, a method that allows for spontaneity and authenticity if handled well. It has allowed Williams and Gosling to carry out their craft with astonishing intensity that is so authentic that at times, it is difficult to watch.

But those who can stomach the searing performances will experience a tremendous story of found and lost romance, and one of the best films of 2010.

As near accurate a portrait of the perfect love affair and its literal death are rendered here explicitly and so utterly, that it’s jaw-dropping closing moments will floor even those hardest of hearts (I can imagine the disappointment of the archetypal couple, hoping for a romantic diversion to affirm their own burgeoning amore: she persuading him that it’s not a sentimental chick-flic, while secretly assuming it is, and he all harrumphing scepticism, who ends up being the first one dribbling tears and snot into his half-empty pop-corn bag when he realises they’re probably doomed).
The chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams is deeply involving. They’re total opposites. She’s very internal, reserved – a little too inscrutable (to the point that some will empathise less with her) but her restraint does what it’s supposed to – unwittingly pulls us in. Williams is exquisite with restraint (as just one single heart-stopping shot in ‘Brokeback Mountain’ will testify). He’s visibly emotional, always (self)analytical, his heart not just on his sleeve but worn proudly like some shiny enamel badge – all gamboling immaturity that drags us along for the ride. If it was anyone but Gosling we’d be gagging. With her quiet intensity & seriousness and his openness & sentimental nature, in some ways it’s quite a gender role-reversal for a love story. But either way, this chalk and cheese characterisation is an early alarm-bell of the cracks to come and not only do they ignore it but so do we – who in life hasn’t ignored those warning signs? Hopeless romantics will wax lyrical about the attraction of opposites, that spark of instant amore, the clash that is only a hurdle on the path to ‘true’ love. But that’s the point of opposites – they have a tendency to end up being exactly that. That’s the real tragedy here. The real tragedy of love.
It’s the first Great film of 2011. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll want to fall in love. And then you’ll wanna run screaming the other way.
And then run back again of course!

Blue Valentine is at times a joyous, affirmation that relationships carry with them the blessing of togetherness, romance, and passion but also the weight of responsibility. This is a film that never steers too far off course, suggesting that for every smile there is a tear, that for every good deed we are not always able to keep things from coming apart.

Filmmaker Derek Cianfrance began making films at 13 and later studied under avant-garde legends Stan Brakhage and Phil Solomon. Their influences and the work that followed was clear preparation for this, Cianfrance’s second feature after numerous award-winning short films and documentaries. He wrote, directed, shot and edited his first feature, Brother Tied at the age of 23. His interest in, and obsession with, human fragility is precise and focused. Blue Valentine doesn’t seem so much like a second film as an extension of all the work Cianfrance has been doing since he first picked up a camera or a pen with an eye toward movies. Blue Valentine reveals a command of character that is crystalline and complex, the beauty matched in challenging detail to the pain that lingers bitter-sweet. Audiences appeared off kilter when leaving the theater after I watched this film with my wife. Some sat through the credits, head held just so, listening to the aching ukulele strummed clumsily but necessarily so by Gosling as a series of photographs appeared and faded, appeared and faded. The pictures might have been a kiss, a breath of air, a glance across a crowded room before nothing but memory. Others stood quick, stumbling, fingers clutching seat backs for traction, trying to take it all in like breath and then let it go less the film leave an indelible mark with questions no one really wants to ask or be answered.

FULL REVIEW

Above The Line Practical Movie reviews—>

Salah satu entry 2010 yang sudah saya tunggu sejak lama. Karya Derek Cianfrance yang dielu-elukan sebagai salah satu film yang layak diperhitungkan karena mengemas sebuah kisah cinta dua sejoli yang apik untuk disimak dan patut diresapi setelahnya. Blue Valentine ber plot minmalis. Dua orang pasangan yang saling jatuh cinta dan menjalani hidup bersama, sounds cheezy? manis-manis sedikit pahit dan ujung-ujungnya manis lagi? yang jelas mungkin film ini bukan film yang tepat buat anda untuk menghabiskan waktu bersama pasangan anda, bisa-bisa esoknya anda menghakiri hubungan anda berdua. Yap setelah digali lebih dalam film ini berkisah tentang cinta, mempertanyakan eksistensi cinta tersebut ketika sang cinta ditempatkan di dua posisi yang berbeda, dan harus menghadapi jurang curma bernama realita.

Ada yang bilang “this is a realistic picture of an american-marriage”, Sebuah pukulan keras yang berbunyi " cinta itu manis, namun lihatlah apa yang terjadi ketika perlahan sang waktu akan menyeruput habis manis tersebut " Saya merasakan aura Lost In Trnaslation disini, mood-driven film selalu menjadi salah satu makanan favorit saya. Film ini cukup bergantung pada laju mood tersebut, yang dengan cukup baik dimainkan oleh performa menawan Gosling dan Williams, membawa kita kepada manisnya masa lalu mereka dan secara bersamaan mempertanyakan cinta mereka di masa kini. Bisa dibilang film ini terbagi oleh dua part. Masa lalu yang menceritakan bagaimana mereka jatuh cinta dan menghabiskan “those Lost In Translation look a-like thingy” mereka, dan masa sekarang dimana mereka harus memakan pil pahit perkawinan yang semakin hari semakin buruk. Namun kedua babak ini dimainkan dengan baik hingga bisa menarik satu sama lain untuk menjadikan Blue Valentine sebuah film yang berbicara banyak tentang realita cinta. Cianfrance bisa saja tidak mengacak pola film ini dan membiarkannya berjalan sesuai aturan waktu. Tapi akankah seindah ini? mungkin tidak,simak bagaimana kedua babak ini berjalan bertaut-tautan dan dengan kuat mengokohkan konstruksi naratif film dan berujung dengan ending yang cukup memuaskan bagi saya. Sebuah ending yang membawa kita pada babak baru di kedua ujung part tersebut

Saya cukup puas dengan apa yang ditawarkan film ini, tersenyum geli disaat flirting session mereka, dan juga sedikit tersenyum di adegan intens pertengkaran mereka ( i had a thing about mouth-to-mouth conflcit on a movie, saya sering mendapati diri saya tersenyum bahkan tertawa saat pertengkaran tersebut makin mencapai puncak, entah kenapa). Ah…Gosling dan Willaims, mereka lah si cinta itu sendiri. Mesra dan intens. Mereka berusaha untuk menjaga perasaan satu sama lain, namun in fact love is actually not an easy thing for anyone. Gosling sebagai Dean yang kerap kali bertanya “tell me what i need to do? you want me to do something right?”, dan Williams sebagai Cindy yang selalu membalas " i don’t know..but there must be something you like to do". Sebuah obrolan meja makan simpel yang ujungnya menjadi inti permaslahan besar rumah tangga mereka.

Film ini menimbulkan tanda tanya besar? jadi apa rahasia cinta yang berumur panjang? bagaimana dengan pasangan-pasangan yang sampai matipun masih bersama? apakah mereka memang punya cinta yang amat kuat? atau cinta itu memang sudah hilang namun mereka masih tetap menjalani hidup bersama, seperti apa yang diterangkan sang nenek kepada Cindy? yang berujung dengan kalimat “you will know love when you felt one” Sebuah kata-kata yang sudah jadi jualan setiap film cinta-cintaan namun mungkin ada benarnya, mungkin cinta itu hal yang personal bagi setiap pasangan, ada yang menggebu-gebu namun instan, ada yang biasa-biasa saja namun dapat bertahan lama. Sebuah hal ironis yang mungkin hanya bisa dijawab oleh waktu dan keadaan. You will felt it when you find one. Di Blue Valentine cinta itu manis namun manis itu digerogoti oleh masa, dan itu hal yang amat nyata. Mungkin anda sudah merasa mendapatkan cinta yang “time-resistant”, kita lihat kedepannya, kalau cinta itu masih ada, berarti eternal love itu mungkin nyata…

Blue Valentine
2010
Directed by: Derek Cianfrance
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams
Score: Grizzly Bear

Screened at Milwaukee Film Festival 2010

There are a few different ways to see a story like this. In the present we watch a marriage fall apart, then we go to the past and watch it’s creation. Back and forth, like two strings wrapping around one another, etc, et al, ad infinitum. One would be hard-pressed not to call Dean (Gosling) a loser. He inhabits a rather low social strata with oblivious nonchalance, working as a mover, unambitious but decent. There would be no real reason to dislike him unless you married him. Cindy (Williams) got pregnant just while she was forming an unlikely friendship with Dean, the two exploring the fun that can be had by riffing about nothing. Alone and in pain, Dean and Cindy (mostly Cindy) nurture a romantic vision of marriage, happiness, future – which is suitably brought to Earth in a few mere minutes in the presence of Cindy’s father, who strips Dean’s meager laurels with justifiable ease with questions like, What do you do for a living? and Did you finish high school?

Blue Valentine was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and was screened Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2010. There’s a throbby, saccharine score by indie folk band Grizzly Bear which, along with the actors themselves, functions as the more interesting aspect of the film. It is shot with now typical verite/whatever flair. Ah, and I now see the story was a 12-year labor of love based off the real experiences of its creator. Color me surprised.

The problem here is that the film appears to be unbiased in its judgment of Dean and Cindy – equal partners in a massive accident – despite the fact that Dean is unequivocally portrayed as a pitiable lump of Male and Cindy is simply a bright star, trying her hardest, confounded by the world and her heart. You leave knowing that Dean made huge mistakes by taking things for granted, and that she did not. The final shot of the film is a rhythmic orgasm of Grizzly Bear, fireworks and a Love Embrace between our stars, celebrating memories of youth and passion – Derek’s Little Elegy. But god – Dean was ten times the loser Cindy was! Don’t give me a Gilded Moment in Time for that man! And exactly what ‘love’ are we celebrating…? Two scared kids jump into a marriage because she’s knocked up..? Yes, romantic young fantasies are nice, but it’s much nicer to evolve.

I digress. I’m being harsh. I personally just have no interest in such narratives. For the type of film that it is… oh, it’s just fine. It might even be pretty good, if you’d like to see such a film. Grizzly Bear is great! Gosling and Williams are exceptional (but why would I want to watch them play losers?). Derek, I think, could’ve spent 12 years being more than nostalgic.