First Hit: This is a truly great film about a disintegrating relationship.
The present time scenes in the film take place over a couple of days, but through well selected and acted flashbacks, we see how they came to be of love with their partner and then slowly see the undoing.
This isn’t a feel good film, yet I felt inspired by the willingness of the script and director to show that neither of the characters are “at fault” for love’s undoing. Often it is the form of love that has to change. There are millions of stories like this in the real world and in each one, one of the parties has to take a step away from something they know cannot exist any longer.
Here, Cindy (played by Michelle Williams) realizes that the life she is having with Dean (played by Ryan Gosling) cannot go any farther. Dean’s view of their relationship is clearly put in one scene when she is asks him about expanding his potential and to apply himself to be something more than what he is doing. He responds by saying, why would he want to change anything, he makes enough money to spend time at home with Cindy and Frankie their daughter (played by Faith Wladyka). He doesn’t see any reason to change this nor does he have the need to have more money or a different stature in the public’s or his wife’s eyes.
Cindy is interested in changing her life, she wants more, and she’s interested in medicine and wants to further her career and feels trapped by the life she is in. Is either of them wrong? No, but how they behave towards each other in the expression of their internal anguish and frustrations creates a world that neither one can live in is what this film expresses.
This film provided enough of the beginning of their relationship in well sequenced flashbacks to show us why they chose to be together in the first place.
Gosling is clearly a wonderful and strong actor. When you match his work here with, Lars and the Real Girl and Half Nelson, you know this guy can act and can play very complex and quirky characters. This is a very strong performance. Williams was extraordinary and clearly well versed in her character. I could feel her struggles and anguish at not being able to see her future in this character. An amazing performance. Wladyka was perfect as their daughter bringing both wonder and maturity to her role as child inside of a disintegrating relationship. Derek Cianfrance and Joey Curtis wrote this excellent script while Cianfrance directed the actors with beauty. Cianfrance stitched together a very fine film and could receive an Oscar nod for this effort.
Overall: This isn’t a happy film, but it is real to life and executed with the strength and spirit of life as it is.