Unhappy Valentine

A FILM about love, sacrifice and commitment that’s every bit as sombre as the title suggests, Blue Valentine (US/16/116 mins) stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as Dean and Cindy, a blue-collar married couple struggling to keep their marriage together even as they drift apart.

Writer-director Derek Cianfrance has crafted a clever tale, splicing Dean and Cindy’s doomed attempts to rekindle their relationship with extended flashbacks detailing their romantic courtship that not only offer a touching counterpoint to their current situation, but also reveal the reasons why their marriage isn’t exactly made in heaven.

It’s a bittersweet story that deliberately avoids the conventional rollercoaster arc of romantic drama, concentrating instead on the petty jealousies and small-minded bickering that creates a believable intimacy between Gosling and Williams, yet it’s those very details that gradually snowball to reveal the gaping chasm between the pair.