81
Metascore
42 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfBlue Valentine has a quiet, resigned wisdom to it.
- 90NPRScott TobiasNPRScott TobiasCianfrance and his actors, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, have not made a cold or schematic film. They aim instead for raw emotional experience, one that's full of insight into the ways a relationship can go astray, but mostly feels like a slow-motion punch to the gut.
- 80VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyOn balance, this is a meaty, strongly realized dramatic work of considerable accomplishment.
- 80TimeMary PolsTimeMary PolsThe 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.
- 80New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinBlue Valentine leaves you with the shattering vision of its truest victim-the one who'll someday look for safety in places it might not be. And the psychodrama will go on and on …
- 80The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneNothing out of the ordinary happens in Blue Valentine, and that, together with the vital, untrammelled performances of the two leading actors, is the root of its power.
- 63Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaPhiladelphia InquirerSteven ReaThere's a loose, vérité vibe here, and times when both Williams and Gosling root down deep to deliver something resonant and true. But this modern-day kitchen sink drama is ultimately too painful, too labored, to care much about at all.
- 60Boxoffice MagazineRay GreeneBoxoffice MagazineRay GreeneThe kind of grim, character-based movie that needs a strong performer to anchor it. Director Derek Cianfrance has been fortunate enough to land two: Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterUltimately, the heavy-handed and annoyingly obvious aesthetic wears thin.