Blue Valentine
I'm not going to be able to comment too much about Blue Valentine because to discuss my main issues with the movie would spoil it so if you haven't seen the movie, just know that the performances are amazing, the direction is stellar, it has one of the worst/best jokes of the year,co-stars a ridiculously adorable little girl, and it's definitely worth a rental, if not a trip to the theater.
As for my rankings, it may seem odd to have it lumped in with three light comedies but I feel like all four movies are films that revolve around relationships and the film didn't really nail the heart (or lack thereof) of the main relationship.
So why was I left a bit cold by the whole thing?
SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT
My main issue with the film is that the premise seem to be Dean's initial take on women: (to paraphrase) men fall in love, women settle down. While Dean was venturing into a world he never expected to be a part of, Cindy is trying to escape her predicament. That's all fine and good but then I feel like the movie is more about Dean falling into the trap. As it is presented, we see the beginning and end of a relationship and (going by my reading of it) the middle didn't really matter. No matter what Dean did, Cindy was always going to realize that she wasn't in love and wanted to try something else. And, to me, that's just not fulfilling.
But even if Dean's comment isn't the driving force behind the movie, I still feel like we were given the spark and the tail end of the relationship; moments which are usually more determined and that don't get changed (or have any hope of changing) by the hero's choices. Cindy is all but out of the relationship. Dean doesn't realize how he's already pushed her away. To me, it would be more interesting to see Dean not realizing that he IS pushing her away while she struggles to maintain a love that never actually existed in the first place. A moment when she realizes that her boss wants her to come with him because he wants her physically, not for her job qualifications, should have been a huge moment but I feel like it was muted (partly because the way her boss's true intentions came out were so blatant and fairly unrealistic IMO). It wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back; the camel's back was already broken. It was more like the piece of straw that made the camel not want to go on with the broke back anymore.
So in the end, the film is less a portrait of a marriage and more a snapshot of the birth and death of a relationship. It was a slice of life piece. And, as that, it is stellar. But I was just hoping to see more of the characters and really get to know them and see them struggle to stand rather than simply tuning in as they're falling (be it, in love or flat on their face.)
The film had amazing performances but the film just didn't come together for me. It's still one of the better films of the year but there just wasn't enough for it to be a truly great movie.
