Directed by: Derek Cianfrance
Genre: Romance
Blue Valentine is an independent film about a married couple that has rushed into an unhappy marriage for the benefit of their illegitimate child. They take a romantic weekend getaway to a cabin in the woods in order to sort out a row they’re having. This affords them plenty of time to ruminate on why they hate each other while also remembering all the good times they had in younger, more innocent days.
Watching this movie is a lot like being a roommate or guest in the company of a couple who fights all the time and is just as interesting. It’s so full of contempt and loathing that in watching it I had to pause a few times to catch my breath, and not in a good way. Meanwhile it is also devoid of any energy or excitement, with a plot that dawdles to nowhere even as it asks us to hold on and see if these two star crossed lovers will reconcile their failed relationship. Do it for the children, guys! Wait, don’t do it for the children, you’d make horrible parents.
A small redeeming factor of the film is its most interesting and shortest scene. The wife visits an abortion clinic because she is scared to have the baby and it seems to be played straight. It covers her interview with the doctor and talks about her sexual history and then switches to her lying on the operating table to complete the procedure. She is awake and presumably numbed, and is allowed to make a last-minute decision about whether she should keep the baby or not. It is a powerful scene that forms a powerfully emotional core of an otherwise mediocre film, and in a way that almost makes watching it worthwhile. At the very least, I think I understand that I shouldn’t be a drunken asshole loser to my wife.
ThomFiles 
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