Blue Valentine

"A Love Story."

2010 1h 52m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 3,639

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Dean and Cindy live a quiet life in a modest neighborhood. They appear to have the world at their feet at the outset of the relationship. However, his lack of ambition and her retreat into self-absorption cause potentially irreversible cracks in their marriage.

“A Love Story.”

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Cast

Ryan Gosling
Dean
Michelle Williams
Cindy
John Doman
Jerry
Mike Vogel
Bobby
Ben Shenkman
Dr. Feinberg
Jen Jones
Gramma
Maryann Plunkett
Glenda
Faith Wladyka
Frankie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Derek Cianfrance
Writers: Joey Curtis, Derek Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $15M — a 15.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 16 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Derek Cianfrance, shot by Andrij Parekh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Grizzly Bear. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jim Helton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams and John Doman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A Love Story.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Derek Cianfrance directs. Andrij Parekh behind the camera. Grizzly Bear scores. Jim Helton cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $15M — a 15.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
3Released 16 years ago.
4Directed by Derek Cianfrance, shot by Andrij Parekh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Grizzly Bear. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jim Helton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams and John Doman carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A Love Story.".
9IMDB entry: tt1120985 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 19 themes, including "depression", "dancing", "nurse", "pennsylvania, usa".

The technical file

Cinematography: Andrij Parekh
Original score: Grizzly Bear
Editing: Jim Helton
Production design: Inbal Weinberg
Costume design: Erin Benach
Makeup / hair: Bobby Diehl
Sound: Tony Volante
Stunt coordinator: Blaise Corrigan
Runtime: 112 min · 1h 52m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,000,000
Box office: $15,440,333
Return: 1544% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Blue Valentine (2010)

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Derek Cianfrance

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2022-07-06
★ 7/10
It is a discreet film, which can go unnoticed, but very intense, realistic, believable and that can be difficult to see for many people. Romantic dramas aren't exactly my favorite type of film, but I recognize the quality of work done in this film, and the skill of director Derek Cianfrance. In almost every way, this film was a labor of love, drawing heavily on the director's personal experience who, as a young man, witnessed his parents' divorce. Although the film has a name that reminds us of the rosier side of love, the film actually does a very detailed dissection of a relationship, from beginning to end. I can even agree if someone tells me that this film is not for everyone: it is a dense film, something slow, there are very monotonous passages, dialogues that seem to be there just to fill time, but that actually help us to understand the personality and way of acting of the two elements of the couple. In addition, the film does not have a linear narrative, making several setbacks and temporal advances, in order to intersperse the past and the present, showing us the evolution of the relationship and, also, its wear and tear. It's not a nice movie or easy to watch, and in large part this is due to the authenticity of what we see. That couple could be our neighbor, or one of us. It is a film that, for many people, can evoke painful memories of past and present courtships and marriages. I really enjoyed the interpretation of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. Both actors were fully committed to the work, built a powerful chemistry and partnership, they are largely the soul of the film. Gosling played a romantic who absolutely believes in love and seems willing to do anything to try to make their marriage work. He's passionate, absolute and enthusiastic, the kind of man who doesn't mind taking risks, and has the self-confidence to run after the ones he loves. Williams made her character more reserved, tough, a little defensive, but full of personality and inner strength. Moreover, the actress would get an Oscar nomination for Best Actress with this work. The film has a very well executed cinematography, excellent editing work and good production values. It's not a flashy film, it will surely go unnoticed by many people, and in fact it's not a perfect film or totally likable, but it's interesting, it's intense, and if we give it a chance, it's impossible not to feel sympathy for the characters. and suffer with the difficulties they go through.
CinemaSerf2024-07-06
★ 6/10
A really rather dreary depiction of two young people from pretty dysfunctional backgrounds who get together - with her baby from another relationship - and struggle through life. Ryan Gosling is "Dean" a working class man quite content to make his way as a handy man/painter whilst "Cindy" (Michelle Williams) is a nurse who has (slightly) greater aspirations for both of them, and her little girl. The story is delivered in threads that try to reconcile their separate, rather depressing, routes to their current predicaments alongside their prevailing issues. Certainly there was love, once, in their relationship but that has long been supplanted by resentment, frustration and even some jealousy before it all culminates with a rather disastrous "romantic" night in an hotel. The relentless inevitability of the story is writ large from the start, and although the film is well put together, it cannot elevate it from the realms of a rather drab, angry melodrama.
GenevieveChenneour2025-06-22
★ 10/10
A film that feels like falling in and out of love in the same breath. It doesn’t warn you, it just wounds you - with all the tenderness and cruelty of real intimacy. Ryan and Michelle aren’t acting - they’re remembering. And maybe that’s the most painful thing of all.