For those who aren't aware, Blue Valentine is an indie film starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams that came out in 2011. It received high praise from critics for displaying a depth and realism in the characters. I recently watched the movie with 2 other men and 3 women. By the end of it, the two men were using the "Oh man is someone cutting onions?" and "I must have something in my eye" platitudes. The two of the women were crying outright, and the other very openly expressed her deep sympathy for the characters in the film. I was disgusted by the film, so I'll give you a Red Pill rundown of the movie for those who have yet to watch it. This should be long.

The movie starts with Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) about 5-6 years into their marriage. The entire film is about the inevitable demise of an obviously flawed union, and scenes of them falling in love are interwoven into the narrative.

Dean meets Cindy on his job as a mover. He's a high school dropout, she's an undergrad going the pre-med route. He sees her as he's leaving a job, and promptly (and smoothly) gives her his number. She is in the middle of a bad break up with some other college wrestling bro, and decides not to get into anything. BUT FATE CANNOT SEE TRUE LOVE DIE and he sees her on a bus. -insert charming interaction and even more charming date montage-. So although he's not as alpha as can be, he's a guy who looks strikingly similar to USA's number one sex symbol, and is very suave. Now, after this date montage, Cindy finds out she's pregnant. She decides to get an abortion, and during the pre-abortion interview, she answers some questions.

Q: When did you become sexually active? A: 13

Q: How many sexual partners have you had since becoming sexually active? A: 20-25

Turns out, Dean is not the father, but college wrestling bro is. But Dean loves Cindy because she's so different and special. "It's like I know her already", blah blah blah. She decides she can't go through with the abortion. Dean is a nice, traditional guy. He knows the baby isn't his, but he decides to marry Cindy anyways.

FAST FORWARD 5 YEARS Dean is now balding (the director had previously planned to shoot the "future" and "past" scenes several years apart, but indie films, money, you know the deal. So make him bald) and is a wonderful father to their daughter. He paints houses, which gives him the flexibility to be there for his daughter. Cindy is not a doctor, but a nurse. Her life did not turn out the way she planned, and neither did her husband. In a solemn dinner, she points out that he has so much potential and has done nothing with it. Instead, he has a job that she dislikes (but he's totally cool with), and is still a child. So several things happen after this dinner which all reinforce the "you need to be a better man" theme that runs through this divorce.

Finally, the epic breakdown occurs at her workplace. She's mad that he's drunk, he's mad that she doesn't respect him, she's even angrier that he's "not a man", he's outraged because he doesn't "even know what that means!", and the like. Finally, he starts letting some rage out, punches a dude that he thinks is hitting on his wife, then apologizes. They go home, where he begs her to "Tell me what to do! Tell me what to be and I'll be it! I'm fighting for my family, it's the only thing I know how to do". She "can't do this anymore", they separate. As he is walking away, the daughter who is not his chases after him because, although she is completely unaware of what's going on, she likes him better. I will never watch this movie again. But I will give it the praise it deserves for the realistic portrait it paints.