Flashback Diner

Flashback Diner

Flashback Diner

Whether Derek Cianfrance wrote Blue Valentine as a cautionary tale to those who think that love can last forever or simply to warn that domesticity is the root of all evil is an arbitrary decision. What is not arbitrary, however, is that choosing Grizzly Bear to punctuate almost every frame of the film is absolutely essential to the sadness conveyed by the unavoidable demise of Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy's (Michelle Williams) relationship.

Beginning With The End

The first appearance of Dean is as a balding, gut-heavy, chain-smoking father coming to the aid of his daughter, Frankie (Faith Wladyka), as she searches for their dog, Megan. The absence of music throughout this particular sequence is a poignant mirror for the marriage--once so chock full of things to say, Cindy and Dean now only communicate in the form of bickering.

As Dean searches for the dog with a daughter who isn't really his--the ultimate symbol of the depths of his love for Cindy being raising Frankie as his own--only the ambient sounds of rural Pennsylvania pepper the scene. The quietude is a statement on how empty and silent their marriage has become.


  • Flashback Diner

    Flashback Diner

    Flashback Diner

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