Blue Valentine Scene Dissection
11/14/13
Scene Breakdown The scene I chose to write about is from one of my favorite movies, Blue Valentine. Directed by Derek Cianfrance, this movie is an examination of a marriage on the rocks, as well as the beginnings of a new one, by the same people. Ryan Gosling plays Dean, a high school dropout trying to make ends meet without any support from his family, and Michelle Williams plays Cindy, a pre-med student living with her unhappy parents. On an off chance, Dean and Cindy meet one another and fall in love and get married. This courtship, however, is inter-cut with a scene of Dean and Cindy, five years later still married, arguing and crying in the kitchen of their house. This scene, which is sort of two scenes woven together, is one of the most emotionally gripping things I have ever seen and the scene that I am going to dissect. The scene starts with Cindy entering the kitchen of her parent's house with Dean following not far behind. Tensions are high because Dean, in the previous scene, came to the hospital, that Cindy works at, drunk looking to get into an argument and he ended up punching her boss, possibly resulting in her termination and his arrest. The camera pans while Cindy walks into the kitchen and starts pouring a glass of water with her back to the camera. The kitchen is not very bright, with only one overhead light and the light from the window, which is right in front of Cindy's face. It's raining very slightly outside which adds to the bleak nature of the situation. The camera then cuts to a closeup of Dean's face as he approaches from the blackness of the living room and into the light at the doorway into the kitchen. Dean is very emotional, he has to stick his tongue to the side of his cheek and then even look away to fight back his tears. He finally speaks, but doesn't apologize or even try to validate his actions, he brings up the only thing that he know will bend Cindy a little bit, their daughter Frankie. He says they need to
Scene Breakdown The scene I chose to write about is from one of my favorite movies, Blue Valentine. Directed by Derek Cianfrance, this movie is an examination of a marriage on the rocks, as well as the beginnings of a new one, by the same people. Ryan Gosling plays Dean, a high school dropout trying to make ends meet without any support from his family, and Michelle Williams plays Cindy, a pre-med student living with her unhappy parents. On an off chance, Dean and Cindy meet one another and fall in love and get married. This courtship, however, is inter-cut with a scene of Dean and Cindy, five years later still married, arguing and crying in the kitchen of their house. This scene, which is sort of two scenes woven together, is one of the most emotionally gripping things I have ever seen and the scene that I am going to dissect. The scene starts with Cindy entering the kitchen of her parent's house with Dean following not far behind. Tensions are high because Dean, in the previous scene, came to the hospital, that Cindy works at, drunk looking to get into an argument and he ended up punching her boss, possibly resulting in her termination and his arrest. The camera pans while Cindy walks into the kitchen and starts pouring a glass of water with her back to the camera. The kitchen is not very bright, with only one overhead light and the light from the window, which is right in front of Cindy's face. It's raining very slightly outside which adds to the bleak nature of the situation. The camera then cuts to a closeup of Dean's face as he approaches from the blackness of the living room and into the light at the doorway into the kitchen. Dean is very emotional, he has to stick his tongue to the side of his cheek and then even look away to fight back his tears. He finally speaks, but doesn't apologize or even try to validate his actions, he brings up the only thing that he know will bend Cindy a little bit, their daughter Frankie. He says they need to