Blue Valentine [2010]

You always hurt the ones you love, indeed. With the realistic and heartbreaking Blue Valentine, Derek Cianfrance swims against the current and shows us a couple falling out of love instead.  The film is painful, but also surprisingly funny and it has a very voyeuristic quality to it. Everything feels so close, so intimate, it’s like you’re intruding in Dean and Cindy’s life. Michelle Williams got the Oscar nomination, but it’s Ryan Gosling who’s the most mesmerizing. His evolution from a sweet, likable guy to an alcoholic, erratic monster is stunning; he’s such a star. Come to think of it, he’s terribly underrated.