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“Blue Valentine” follows the path of a relationship from the early joys to the midterm tribulations to its uncertain and jaded end.

Actors Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams have great on-screen chemistry in “Blue Valentine,” portraying a couple desperate to renew their earlier love and save their failing marriage.

They play a couple desperate to rekindle the early magic of their marriage.

Fighting and constant conflict have ruined Dean and Cindy’s relationship as they live almost completely separate lives caring for their daughter Frankie (Faith Wladyka).

While Cindy is working in the medical field as a nurse, Dean has always worked in blue-collar jobs in order to make ends meet.

The courtship between the two is revealed throughout the film with a series of flashbacks as they reminisce about the love they once had while staying at a cheap romantic hotel to give them one more shot.

A strong ambiguous personality forms within Gosling’s character Dean as the duality of his persona is revealed. At times he is the sweetest man in the world, but at others he is a complete mess.

On the other hand, Williams creates a very scrappy young woman looking for someone to save her from selfish, loveless relationships.

From the commencement of their love through their struggles and ending with a very open ending, all of the stages of a relationship are experienced.

Looking beyond these two superb performances, the film itself is very well articulated by writer-director Derek Cianfrance. He uses the art of symbolism throughout the film, most memorably with the shot of a heart-shaped wreath behind Cindy when the love between her and Dean begins.

This symbolism leads the audience to their interpretation of what the title “Blue Valentine” actually means. Cianfrance exemplifies this in a more literal sense as well with the use of blue lighting, but the truth behind the film rests in the heart of the viewer.