Cianfrance seems to be a promising new American director and his last movie -Blue Valentine- is a very well done one. He is in his early 30's and this is only his 2nd work yet he surely can teach pretentious overpraised directors like Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road), or wannabe "artists" like Tom Ford (A Single Man) how to make a movie.
Blue Valentine reminds me of movies like Before Sunrise (1995) and its sequel Before Sunset (2004): simple well told stories. Unlike those two, it narrates two paralleled stories of the same couple, the present is the married couple and the past is the two lovers. A simple story of a couple about the beginning and the end of "them", told without any cliche or melodramatic scenes and empty dialogues (again, movies like Revolutionary Road , A Single Man, The Hours...etc).
The male lead is Ryan Gosling who did an excellent job. He plays an uneducated -but not dumb- blue collar man who falls in love with a young blond played by Michelle Williams , a college girl planning to enter medical school. The married couple (present time) has a little daughter and Gosling is a good father and has an ok job (wall painting). In one interesting scene the disappointed wife is questioning his plans for the future and that he "had" so many potentials; projecting her own personal disappointment by ending up as a physician assistant in a small local office instead of being a physician.
The movie is good because it doesn't claim more than what it should, a simple story of an ordinary couple facing the ups but mostly downs of married life. Unlike 99% of the current American trash formula in cinema there's no major tragedy or trauma waiting to happen. The few -very daring- sex scenes between the lovers are at times awkward and shot from non-flattering angles; as opposed to the regular steamy, sweaty, out-of-this-world hollywood sex. The camera is as neutral is it could: no unnecessary close ups, no fancy transitions b/w past or present (the balding Gosling is almost the only lead to the present time).
Blue Valentine is a very good movie, will I watch it again: probably no, but it is how ordinary stories should be told and what hollywood is currently lacking. It seems overall it got good reviews (91%on RT).
