Broken Marriage

Love hurts.  The same love that once made you so happy can hurt you, and can break your marriage. That seems to be the lesson to be taken from BLUE VALENTINE. This film is a portrait of a marriage gone awry, and for my money, the most romantic movie of 2010. But beware, though: it is also the most painful movie to watch - we can easily watch buildings crumble, or for that matter, for the word to end, but witnessing how love is broken down? It tore me apart. 


Above all, I will never forget this movie for two reasons: Michele Williams and Ryan Gosling. They deliver what to me are the most honest performances in film on any given year. It is one thing to convey pain, but it is more difficult to essay happiness. Their chemistry is so palpable it explodes in front of your eyes, so when you see them part ways, you are scarred for life. You realize that even though on paper they seem to be the perfect match, the things that brought them together - innocence, spontaneity, recklessness - are the same things that destroyed them. In one pivotal scene, I found myself helplessly sobbing. I can't remember the last time I got so attached to characters on screen, and up to now find myself still thinking about them. This movie is more character study than plot, but boy do these characters make a lasting impression. You'll never forget them.