Blue Valentine: In theatres now


I've written so many posts about it, I feel compelled to inform you that Blue Valentine opens in Toronto today, and Montreal and Vancouver next Friday.

And thankfully, after promoting it without actually seeing it, the Michelle Williams-Ryan Gosling film is getting some great reviews, with a 91 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

"It’s this slow marital wearing down that Derek Cianfrance brings so heartbreakingly to the screen in Blue Valentine, aided by rich performances from Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling that have deservedly attracted Oscar buzz," writes Peter Howell of the Toronto Star.

"The performances are as raw as the characters," writes Rick Groen in the Globe and Mail. "As the figure of constancy, Gosling has the more sympathetic role and takes full advantage, underscoring everything that’s likeable about Dean. . . Yet Gosling refuses to play the guy as a simple victim.

"Of course, it’s Cindy who’s the force of transformation here, which gives Williams the much harder task of depicting a good woman who does right by herself by doing wrong to a good man."

The main criticism I've read about the film is that it's depressing. So if you don't think you can handle it, I guess Little Fockers is out now too.