The Breakup: Dean looked older. His hairline had fallen back a few inches. He was bespectacled, his eyes barely visible through his prescription tint. A sharp sigh fell from his mouth as he leaned into the kitchen doorway. You know its not just us, we got a little girl we gotta think about, Dean said. His face contorted, scrunching and pulling in every direction at the sound of his own words. He didnt look or feel anything like the man Cindy had met several years earlier. Big tears dropped from Cindys eyes between each of her pleas for Dean to stay away. He didnt hear her, and she didnt hear him plead to keep their family together. Theyd both heard little of what had been said in the last few years. They had always been talking at each other. Cindy apologized. It was impossible to say what for. She apologized over and over again as her husband made his case for a second chance. Again, their words seemed to miss each other. After a few moments, Dean stumbled out of the house. Not even their daughters cries could lure him back. What Makes It So Brilliantly Devastating: Blue Valentines brilliance is that is manages to focus on the small moments that comprise a long relationship. This breakup occured after a major event: Dean punched Cindys boss, resulting in the termination of her employment. Of course, the fistfight wasnt the cause of their split; it was just a symptom of a much greater problem. This films depiction of love is a lot like a sickness, slowly spreading through each scene. This particular scene was intercut with several shots from Dean and Cindys wedding. Their marriage was largely a reaction to her accidental pregnancy. Marrying someone you hardly knew, and with the intent of raising a child together, seemed like an ill-formed idea from the start. Given their respective family histories, it is perhaps a bit more understandable. They imagined themselves able to improve upon the mistakes others had made before them. The follies of youth. Both Dean and Cindy apologized to one another throughout the scene. Their apologies, somehow simultaneously empty and emotionally heavy, seemed to be the only constant in the later years of their relationship. These apologies would be better spent said to a mirror. Theyd built their entire adult lives around a simple mistake of their youth. If only they could get it all back.
Blue Valentines brilliance is that is manages to focus on the small moments that comprise a long relationship. This breakup occured after a major event: Dean punched Cindys boss, resulting in the termination of her employment. Of course, the fistfight wasnt the cause of their split; it was just a symptom of a much greater problem. This films depiction of love is a lot like a sickness, slowly spreading through each scene. This particular scene was intercut with several shots from Dean and Cindys wedding. Their marriage was largely a reaction to her accidental pregnancy. Marrying someone you hardly knew, and with the intent of raising a child together, seemed like an ill-formed idea from the start. Given their respective family histories, it is perhaps a bit more understandable. They imagined themselves able to improve upon the mistakes others had made before them. The follies of youth. Both Dean and Cindy apologized to one another throughout the scene. Their apologies, somehow simultaneously empty and emotionally heavy, seemed to be the only constant in the later years of their relationship. These apologies would be better spent said to a mirror. Theyd built their entire adult lives around a simple mistake of their youth. If only they could get it all back.