Blue Valentine is a drama film which was released to U.S. theaters on December 29, 2010. The film was directed by Derek Cianfrance, who previously directed the 1998 film Brother Tied.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0161834/ The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2010 and was subsequently screened at the Cannes Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1120985/releaseinfo Blue Valentine was originally given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA for “explicit sexual content,” but this was overturned on appeal and converted to an R rating just prior to the movie’s theatrical release.http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mpaa-overturns-blue-valentines-nc-57891 The tagline of the film is, “A Love Story.”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1120985/ Blue Valentine was filmed in the states of New York and Pennsylvania.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1120985/locations

Blue Valentine had an estimated production budget of one million dollars.http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=bluevalentine.htm In its opening week, the film was released to four theaters and grossed over 97 thousand dollars.http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekly&id=bluevalentine.htm As of January 2011, the film has grossed over 1.3 million dollars domestically.http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=bluevalentine.htm

The nominations for the 68th annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony were announced on Tuesday, December 14, 2010.http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20449442,00.html Blue Valentine garnered two nominations, for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (Michelle Williams), and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama (Ryan Gosling).http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/

The film chronicles the stages of an intimate relationship between a young couple, from their initial joy and courtship, to their crumbling marriage. While their burgeoning relationship is initially rooted in passion, it gradually begins to dissolve, as the couple find themselves growing apart due to a difference in ambition and maturity.http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-synopsis/blue-valentine.2/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oiY7W7nDeE

• Ryan Gosling: Dean
• Michelle Williams: Cindy
• Faith Wladyka: Frankie
• John Doman: Jerry
• Mike Vogel: Bobby
• Marshall Johnson: Marshall
• Jen Jones: Gramma
• Maryann Plunkett: Glenda
• James Benatti: Jamie
• Barbara Troy: Jo
• Carey Westbrook: Charley
• Ben Shenkman: Dr. Feinberg
• Eileen Rosen: Mimi
• Enid Graham: Professor
• Ashley Gurnari: Checkerhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1120985/

• "Derek Cianfrance's film is a sombre, painful portrait of a toxic marriage, often touching and sometimes moving, though occasionally contrived and self-conscious in its effects. There are powerfully committed performances here from its stars...I occasionally felt that it resembled, just a little, an indulgent actors' project."—Peter Bradshaw of The Guardianhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jan/13/blue-valentine-review

• "Blue Valentine can be a wrenching experience, but for all its heightened emotions, it doesn’t feel particularly real or insightful."—Josh Bell of Las Vegas Weeklyhttp://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2011/jan/12/blue-valentine-punishing-and-empty/

• "A raw but beautiful picture of love uniting and dividing: tender, real and heartfelt."—Nev Pierce of Empire Magazinehttp://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?FID=136392

• "Derek Cianfrance, the film's writer and director, observes with great exactitude the birth and decay of a relationship. This film is alive in its details."—Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Timeshttp://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110105/REVIEWS/110109996