Quantcast

Call for Papers: PopMatters Celebrates The Jam in Massive Special Section

'Blue Valentine' Trailer and Clip (2010, dir. Derek Cianfrance)

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2010

The MPAA just slapped the dreaded “NC-17” rating onto this Weinstein year-end release, leading many prognosticators to sound the death knell for the film’s Oscar chances, even after the film played to raves at international film festivals such as Sundance, Cannes, and Toronto.


Clearly, American audiences need to get over the ham-fisted notion that cinematic sex and nudity are what their children need to be shielded from.


With endorsements from a tidal wave of critics who believe Blue Valentine is being unfairly judged for its realistic depictions of sex, look for the film to gain even more traction in the awards game thanks to a little good old-fashioned controversy. The film may have actually been given a new lease on life, rather than a death sentence after all.


Stars Gosling and Williams look to be at the very top of their games.


Related Articles
1 Jun 2011
Ultimately, Blue Valentine isn’t something you merely watch: it’s something that you feel. Even though it proves to be one hell of a devastating experience, it’s worth the pain.
By PopMatters Staff
12 Jan 2011
Among this year's winners include a fake documentary, a comedy about Jihad, a vampire story NOT dealing with tacky tween romance, a haunting hillbilly noir, and an elegant tale about clones. Not necessarily the usual cinematic suspects.
By PopMatters Staff
5 Jan 2011
Heroes and villains, criminals and crazed creative types: the 20 best male performances of 2010 definitely run the dramatic/comedic character topography... with a few unusual turns tossed in for good measure.
31 Dec 2010
In Blue Valentine, gender roles are less reversed than exposed, and so increasingly unfixed and sometimes unnerving.
Comments
Now on PopMatters
Short Ends and Leader: 'Battleship': What Did You Expect?
'Battleship': What Did You Expect? (Short Ends and Leader) [Mon, 2:00 pm]
East Meets Least: 'Thirteen Women' (Short Ends and Leader) [Fri, 4:00 pm]
'Man to Man' is an Early Talkie that's Not Stagey at All (Short Ends and Leader) [Fri, 4:00 pm]
Calling Out to Carroll...Baker: 'Bridge to the Sun' (Short Ends and Leader) [Fri, 4:00 pm]
Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist (Mixed Media) [Fri, 12:00 pm]
Paranormal (Radio)Activity: 'Chernobyl Diaries' (Short Ends and Leader) [Fri, 11:00 am]
'Men in Black 3' Looks Back, Again (Reviews) [Fri, 9:20 am]
Poliça: 11 May 2012 - Rochester, NY (Reviews) [Fri, 6:25 am]
'The Witcher 2' Does the Exposition Dump Right (Moving Pixels) [Fri, 6:00 am]
  1. The Top 10 Overplayed Songs You Hate by Artists You Love (Sound Affects)
  2. Tea with 'Sherlock': Investigating the Investigators (Features)
  3. Sunk? This 'Battleship' Stunk! (Short Ends and Leader)
  4. Top Ten Lost Midwest Punk Singles (Sound Affects)
  5. Tenacious D: Rize of the Fenix (Reviews)
  6. 20 Questions: Kate Bornstein (Features)
  7. 10 Pieces of Cinematic Art That Require Revisiting (Short Ends and Leader)
  8. Like 'Doom', In Heels (Moving Pixels)
  9. Punk Rock's Pet Sounds: An Interview with Bomb the Music Industry! (Features)
  10. Counterbalance No. 82: U2's 'Achtung Baby' (Sound Affects)
  11. She's a Rainbow: A Tribute to Donna Summer (Features)
  12. 'Albatross': A Not-So-Weighty Coming-of-Age Meets Mid-Life-Crisis Film (Reviews)
  13. We Will Avenge Them Or… Be Avenged?: The Individual in the US Experience (Features)
  14. Go Goth!: Ranking the Burton/Depp Collaborations (Short Ends and Leader)
  15. Counterbalance No. 83: The Stooges' 'Fun House' (Sound Affects)
  16. The Queen and Her Crayons: An Interview With Donna Summer (Features)
  17. Best Coast: The Only Place (Reviews)
  18. The Best Canadian Records of the Year? The Fun Agony of Voting for the Polaris Prize Long List (Sound Affects)
  19. Flash Points: Mommy's Breast, Marriage Equality and Why Chipotle Is King (Features)
  20. Something’s Wrong with the Black Widow! (Graphic Novelties)
  21. Sergio Leone: Something to Do with Death (Columns)
  22. Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music (Reviews)
  23. Sherlock Holmes, Dirk Gently and the Case of the Eccentric Detective (Columns)
  24. In Support of Supports (Moving Pixels)
  25. In Defense Of... Rock Radio: A Force in Popular Culture (Columns)
  26. The Cult: Choice of Weapon (Reviews)
  27. Willie Nelson: Heroes (Reviews)
  28. Garbage: Not Your Kind of People (Reviews)
  29. Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist (Mixed Media)
  30. 'People's Pornography': The Mundanities of Pornography and Surveillance Culture (Reviews)
PM Picks
Film Archive
Announcements

© 1999-2012 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters.com™ and PopMatters™ are trademarks
of PopMatters Media, Inc.

PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
PopMatters is a member of BUZZMEDIA Music, MOG and Guardian Select.