Blue ValentineMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 81 out of 100 Universal acclaim Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
17 not for kids
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Time Out New York | Joshua Rothkopf

    Blue Valentine has a quiet, resigned wisdom to it. Read full review

  • 100
    New York Observer | Rex Reed

    Blue Valentine is about real life, warts and all, over narrative conventions like action and plot mechanics. It is brutal, compassionate, beautiful in its ugliness and one of the bravest films of the year. Read full review

  • 100
    New York Daily News | Joe Neumaier

    Halfway into Blue Valentine, a work so beautifully acted and emotionally honest it is my choice for best movie of the year, there's an amazing flashback scene you hope never ends. Read full review

  • 100
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Gosling and Williams have the most palpable chemistry of any screen couple this year, never striking a false note in this achingly tender tale of a love that implodes before our eyes. Read full review

  • 100
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Blue Valentine is lushly touching and gorgeously told. Read full review

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Derek Cianfrance, the film's writer and director, observes with great exactitude the birth and decay of a relationship. This film is alive in its details. Read full review

  • 80
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    On balance, this is a meaty, strongly realized dramatic work of considerable accomplishment. Read full review

  • 80
    Time | Mary Pols

    The scenes cut so close to the emotional bone that you can understand why they might cause a panic amongst MPAA boardmembers, although of course, it's nothing to be afraid of: just the realism of love in its varied forms. Read full review

  • 60
    Los Angeles Times | Betsy Sharkey

    That meandering dialogue can be difficult to control, and at times the film feels as if the director has stepped away from the vehicle, leaving it to veer off the path. Still, it's an experiment that works more than it fails by giving Gosling and Williams both the motive and the means to create something extraordinary, a valentine that actually says something true about being in love. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    Cindy and Dean remain, for all their sustained agony and flickering joy, something less than completely realized human beings. Mr. Cianfrance's ingenious chronological gimmick, coupled with his anxious, clumsy plotting, leaves them without enough oxygen to burst into breathing, loving life. Read full review

View more reviews for Blue Valentine on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says not for kids Agonizing but beautiful adult drama about love and marriage.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this intense, moving drama about a young couple’s rocky relationship is fraught with moments that are both tender and true, with the truest being the most anguished. The complex, heavy material -- which includes abortion and hints of alcoholism -- will likely overwhelm most kids, except perhaps for the oldest of teenagers. Expect some sexual scenes with partial nudity (including one that originally earned the film an NC-17 rating, which was reduced to an R on appeal), swearing (including "f--k" and more), and drinking, as well as a number of forceful arguments.
  • Families can talk about the movie's messages about relationships. Does it seem realistic? Would you want a relationship like the one portrayed here? Parents, talk to your teens about your family's values concerning dating and relationships.
  • How does the relationship portrayed here compare to other movies about couples? Is it similar or different?
  • Why do you think the movie was originally rated NC-17? Why do you think it was changed to an R?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: There's lots of complicated, messy relationship stuff here, but at its heart, the movie is saying that you can't have the good without the bad. The message is that relationships are both beautiful and ugly, sometimes at the same time; they buoy you and make you question yourself.
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: The characters are multi-dimensional and realistically drawn; they’re flawed human beings who make mistakes and can’t always fix them. But most of them are warm, loving, and giving, too.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Three men ambush a man at work and beat him up; they’re shown kicking and punching him. Afterward, his face is swollen and bloodied. A couple argues bitterly during an intimate moment.
  • sex false4 Sex: This film was initially given an NC-17 rating for a scene of explicit sexual content but was re-rated R on appeal. A man and a woman are shown in a sexual position; his behind is somewhat visible, as is a side view of hers. A couple takes a shower together; her breasts are bare. A married couple is also seen bickering while trying to have sex.
  • language false4 Language: Frequent strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," “bitch,” “a--hole,” “jackass,” “p---y,” “motherf--ker,” “c--t," "hell," and "goddamn."
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: Logos for Budweiser and Steinway Moving and Storage.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: A character drinks fairly steadily, sometimes throughout the day. He also smokes often. A couple loads up on liquor that they imbibe in a motel.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

4.0

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

Love tears them apart. Again. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

Jen Yamato

4.5

Jen Yamato Profile See Jen Yamato's Profile

A bittersweet elegy to love. Read full review See Dave Jen Yamato's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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Cast Interviews Video Cast Interviews Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams and writer/director Derek Cianfrance talk about shooting a raw movie and adjusting the characters to a six year time lapse.