--- title: "Blue Valentine: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/blue-valentine/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/blue-valentine" critics_score: 75 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Blue Valentine (2010): what the critics said Critics' score 75 from 14 reviews: 12 positive, 1 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics find Blue Valentine a painful, convincing account of a relationship breaking down, with praise concentrated on Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. The reviews repeatedly credit their performances with making both the early attraction and the later resentment believable. The movement between past and present generally earns approval for showing how affection survives alongside disappointment, rather than simply explaining where things go wrong. Critics also value the film’s unsentimental treatment of intimacy and its reluctance to assign blame. The reservations concern repetition, narrative clarity and how much its bleakness asks of an audience. Total Film finds recurring highs and lows even while admiring the performances, while The New York Times considers the non-linear storytelling muddled. The Hollywood Reporter is the sharpest dissenter, finding the close observation tedious and the aesthetic heavy-handed. The spread is wide, then, but the disagreement centres on the filmmaking rather than the leads, whose work earns praise even in the least favourable review. ## Empire — Nev Pierce Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 January 2011. Blue Valentine is a raw, honest love story showing the repercussions of rash decisions and how resentments erode a relationship, cross-cutting between the couple's meet-cute and later disintegration with strong, emotionally available performances from Gosling and Williams. It is a tart antidote to candy-coated romances and far more useful than typical date movies. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/blue-valentine-review/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 December 2010. The critic praises the film as a rare adult love story that confronts sex, consequences, and the everyday erosion of passion without fantasy or evasion. The vital, untrammelled performances of Gosling and Williams are singled out as central to its power. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/01/03/couple-trouble) ## Little White Lies — Matt Bochenski Rating 3/4/4. 13 January 2011. The film is a heartbreaking and unsentimental relationship drama that rejects the redemptive qualities of romance and delves into the painful reality of a crumbling marriage. It contrasts the couple's early days with their later bitterness through strong performances from Gosling and Williams. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/blue-valentine) ## Los Angeles Times — Betsy Sharkey Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 29 December 2010. The critic finds the film a painful and moving portrait of a fraying marriage rendered through intimate bookend storytelling. The emotional heft and chemistry of Williams and Gosling are singled out for making the experiment succeed. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-29-la-et-blue-valentine-20101229-story.html) ## Radio Times — Trevor Johnston Rating 4/5. This intimate drama offers an in-depth portrait of a marriage hitting the skids with genuine emotional credibility thanks to strong performances from Williams and Gosling. The time-skipping structure is well-observed and avoids feeling too clever while delivering an affecting recognition that love does not necessarily end even when things go awry. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-1qb15b/blue-valentine/) ## Slant Magazine — Paul Brunick Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 December 2010. The critic finds the film a viscerally raw and lyrically stylized drama of marital collapse that is devastatingly sad yet works beautifully through its contrasting visual styles for past and present, strong performances, and atmospheric details. It may prove too depressing for some but captures the emotional range effectively. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/blue-valentine/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 January 2011. The film is an absorbing, believable portrait of a strained relationship that jumps between a frazzled present and dazzled past, depicting the start and breakdown of a young couple's bond. It stands out as a refreshing, intimate drama thanks to terrific, naturalistically convincing performances from Gosling and Williams. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/blue-valentine-derek-cianfrance-112-mins-15-2185571.html) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4/5. 11 January 2011. The mature and moving indie captures the tug of war between new love's excitement and its slow painful death through a time-skipping structure and excellent performances by Gosling and Williams. It is a bittersweet affecting film that focuses on feelings and behaviour with smart direction and cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/blue-valentine-1) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 2010. The film's temporal structure contrasts giddy early love with the dark present of a buckling marriage, yielding repetitive highs and lows but anchored by deep, intimate, honest performances from Williams and Gosling that feel ripped from real blue-collar life. It does not assign blame as love and its loss are never rational. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/blue-valentine-review/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 29 December 2010. The critic views the film as an ambitious but ultimately muddled examination of a couple's disintegrating relationship through its non-linear structure. Williams' performance is singled out for its precision amid the narrative shortcomings. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/29/movies/29blue.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Duane Byrge Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 14 October 2010. The critic calls the film a penetrating but tedious close-up of a marriage breakup, criticizing its heavy-handed aesthetic, narrative redundancy, and overall wearisome tone. Gosling and Williams deliver strong, sympathetic performances that provide the main points of interest. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/blue-valentine-film-review-29172/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 16 January 2011. This is a cleverly told story of a doomed marriage underpinned by two outstanding central performances from Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. The achronological structure highlights the couple's incompatibility and the pain of their relationship's collapse, with standout scenes like their street dance and ukulele performance singled out as affecting and memorable. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/jan/16/blue-valentine-review-michelle-williams-ryan-gosling) ## Paste — Michael Dunaway Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 4 January 2011. The critic finds Blue Valentine a tender and humane portrait of a disintegrating marriage that avoids punishing the audience, unlike most films in the genre. Gosling and Williams deliver standout performances, with the director's sensitive approach singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/blue-valentine-review) ## Den of Geek — Joseph Ewens Rating 4/5. 22 June 2011. The critic finds the film raw and involving, hard to forget, praising its commitment to emotional verité and realism. The lead actors' extraordinary dedication to character through improvisation and preparation is singled out. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/blue-valentine-dvd-review/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 28 December 2010. The critic finds the film a compelling portrait of a collapsing marriage that offers no easy answers about why love fades. They single out the intense, raw performances by Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling for praise, noting Williams conveys weariness while Gosling shows a sweetness gone sour. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/review-blue-valentine-poignant-portrayal-end-love-23503/) ## HeyUGuys — Simon Gallagher 1 June 2010. Festival review. The critic calls Blue Valentine the standout film of Cannes and one of the year's best overall. Strong praise goes to the lead performances by Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling and the director's precise, visually striking handling of the parallel timelines. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/heyuguys-at-cannes-2010-blue-valentine-review/) ## NME — James McMahon Rating 4. 28 December 2010. It is a brave, uncompromising romantic drama that proves emotionally draining yet artistically commendable. The honest, unflinching tone in depicting a couple falling in and out of love, along with the nuanced lead performances, is singled out. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-movie-11777-321106) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/blue-valentine.md