Blue Valentine and coitus interruptus

In the Sunday edition of The New York Times there was an interesting article called The Closing of the American Erotic. The first movie discussed is Blue Valentine - the only film last year to receive a NC-17 rating (later changed to R). The writer, Manohla Dargis, mentions that she was startled by the sex in the film only because:

American filmmakers shy away from sex, especially the hot, sweaty kind. The old production code might have crumbled in the 1960s and couples can now share a bed, but the demure fade to black and the prudish pan — coitus interruptus via a crackling fire and underwear strewn across the floor — endures.

I watched Blue Valentine Sunday night.* After all the hype that I read about the film, I kept waiting for the explicit sex scenes. If there were ever two actors that you'd want to see go at it, it is Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, right? Perhaps I've been saturated with too many girls who are 18 years and four seconds old to be shocked but the sex in this movie is so raw and emotional that it makes me think it would have had to been viewed in a vacuum to be considered prurient. But, then again, maybe that is the whole point. Blue Valentine shows marriage, and in a few cases sex, to be gritty and difficult. Relationships are complicated and they don't always work; the reasons for this are hard to understand.

Blue Valentine is driven by the performances of Williams and Gosling. Cianfrance did a great job directing but the reason this movie is so real and authentic is because two brilliant actors understood it and made it their own. The characters are relatable and heartbreaking. Moreover, they are at once different and recognizable during both time periods in the film. Though it would be interesting to see the years in between, it is not necessary. It is all said in the uncomfortably strained relationship portrayed in the opening scene.

This is the type of film that I love. There aren't many like it, which is a shame. It is emotional, gritty, difficult, confusing and authentic. Definitely in my Top Ten of 2010 list - a list which, by the way, I am getting closer and closer to feeling comfortable creating. I hope that you guys get a chance to see this soon.


* I can only wait so long for a movie to come close to Binghamton. Eventually, I just have to torrent that shit. Somewhere, you've been warned.