Dann in reel life: 'Blue Valentine' is painfully truthful
Director/co-writer Derek Cianfrance says the aptly titled “Blue Valentine” is all about the death of love, and that pretty much describes the essence of this extraordinary chronicle of a relationship between two people destined for domestic disintegration.
This mature and insightful personal drama — shot in Super 16 mm. and RED digital formats — features two brave and uncompromised performances by Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling.
They play Cindy and Dean, who open the story as married parents of a wonderful daughter. They appear to be an average family, but quickly we discover the quirks that differentiate them have grown from small, tolerable fissures into chasms of unhappiness, at least for Cindy.
Dean pressures Cindy to go with him to a romance (read: sex) hotel, in what clearly is a desperate attempt to reconnect with her. (Note to guys: Adult resort visits can't fix troubled relationships. Ever.) This doesn't go well at all.
The movie periodically cuts away to happier, earlier times when Dean had a full head of hair and no glasses, and Cindy was young and ready for everything.
As time passes, and the flashbacks slowly catch up to the present, Cindy, a nurse, has ambitions to grow professionally and personally, while Dean never matures. He doesn't want a career. He slavishly devotes himself to Cindy and their daughter Frankie, and Cindy begins to chafe under the constant, intense attention of her husband.
“Blue Valentine” became instantly controversial when the MPAA Ratings Board awarded it an adults-only NC-17, obviously for a graphic sexual encounter. The rating was overturned to an R on appeal, which begs the question: If the Appeals Board members don't consider “Blue Valentine” to be an adults-only feature, what kind of reality-altering substance are they smoking now?
“Blue Valentine” is exactly the sort of mature, adults-only movie (along with “Love and Other Drugs”) the MPAA had in mind when it created the X rating back in 1968, before the porn industry hijacked it and turned it into a symbol for hard-core sex films.
The MPAA leadership knows that an NC-17 limits advertising and income for movies, so it's clear to see what the higher priority is: the protection of children or theatrical income.
The ratings issue aside, “Blue Valentine” emerges as a bold and perceptive exploration of the magical intangibles that connect two people in love's first blush, but fail to bond a couple for the long haul.
The present-day scenes of Dean and Cindy are shot in ugly, blue-gray tones. The happier flashbacks explode in vibrant colors, especially the red heart that hangs over a storefront door where a young Cindy dances to Dean's ukulele serenade.
His foreshadowing lyrics?
“You always hurt the one you love.”
“Blue Valentine” opens at the River East 21 and Century Centre in Chicago, and the Evanston Century 18. Rated R for sexual situations, nudity and language. 114 minutes. ★ ★ ★ ★
The Coens get toasted
Join me and James Bond novelist Raymond Benson as Dann & Raymond's Movie Club toasts those iconoclastic filmmaking Coen brothers, Ethan and Joel. Clips include “Fargo,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Blood Simple,” “Barton Fink” and many others. Hey, free admission! It's at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 N. Dunton St., Arlington Heights. (847) 392-0100 or go to ahml.info.
Corey comes to Palms
Actor Corey Feldman is scheduled to visit the Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville for a mini-retrospective of his movies, plus introduce a preview of his upcoming film “Operation Belvis Bash” at 7 p.m. Thursday. He'll be both there and at Hollywood Boulevard in Woodridge all weekend to introduce “Stand By Me,” “License to Drive,” “The Goonies” and “The Lost Boys.” Go to atriptothemovies.com for schedules.
Christian ‘Star Wars'?
Just how much Christian symbology did George Lucas stuff into his “Star Wars” movies? Plenty. Schaumburg District 54 music instructor Ron Zemke and I will talk about the genesis of “The Force” at a special Unfiltered @ 6:33 service, starting at 6:33 p.m. Sunday at Our Redeemers United Methodist Church, 1600 W. Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg. Free admission. (Donations accepted.) Go to orumc.org.
After Hours with Allen
The After Hours Film Society presents Woody Allen's “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger” at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Tivoli Theater, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove. Antonio Banderas, Naomi Watts and Anthony Hopkins star in this “grass is greener” comedy. Rated R for language. 98 minutes. Tickets cost $9 ($5 members). Go to afterhoursfilmsociety.com.
Dann answers e-mails
Dann: Now that Emma Stone has been nominated for a Golden Globe, her chance at getting an Oscar nod might — emphasis on might — be better than you originally thought. She would definitely deserve it. — Santos Joseph Medrano
Santos: I'm not holding my breath, because the Academy voters are notoriously snobby about recognizing actresses in teen sex comedies, such as “Easy A.” But I stand by my opinion that Emma Stone's multidimensional, heartfelt and poignant performance in “Easy A” ranks as one of 2010's best performances and one easily worthy of an Oscar nod. We shall see when the nominations are announced Jan. 25.
Hi Dann: I was reading your “100 ways to get a bad review” on GireWire.com. I agree with most of those, even though I'm not a professional critic. One that gets me is a character that uses a gimmick that really has no relevance to the story or action. For example, taking a board or plate and “shredding” down a pipe or wall or tree trunk like the skateboarders do. — Dennis Harrison
Dennis: I'm slowly working my way up to the 100 most creatively inbred ways filmmakers recycle clichés and conventions to create popular movies. I'm all the way up to 50 on GireWire.com. I'll try to get a few more out there this month.
• Daily Herald film critic Dann Gire's column runs Fridays in Time out!