tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post4400270402135421059..comments2023-11-05T02:01:53.847-06:00Comments on Antagony & Ecstasy: MOVIES I MISSED IN 2010: BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DOTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-39267592900637991792011-01-13T15:15:05.396-06:002011-01-13T15:15:05.396-06:00I think Blue Valentine is only melodramatic in com...I think <i>Blue Valentine</i> is only melodramatic in comparison to <i>Everyone Else</i>, but I agree with everything you've said. I just like the, I don't know, the "rrr!" of <i>Blue Valentine</i> more.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-42735465614634186602011-01-13T01:42:34.875-06:002011-01-13T01:42:34.875-06:00Strangely enough, I watched this for the first tim...Strangely enough, I watched this for the first time the day after I saw <i>Blue Valentine</i> as well. You're right to say that this is more of an intellectual exercise (the overt gender-reversal coding, the sit-back and observe visual approach you mention), but I was stunned at how involved I was with every scene. I think seeing it with <i>Blue Valentine</i> had the opposite effect on me though. That film seemed (while still a powerful watch/experience) almost melodramatic in comparison. I thought of that film's greatest weakness, the asshole ex-boyfriend, and it seemed even more over-the-top and out of place when watching <i>Everyone Else</i>. It's unfair, and I loved both films, but I guess German detachment will always win over American Emotion (no matter how subtly crafted) for me. <br /><br />Now I'm thinking of Herzog and Treadwell. There's a thesis in here somewhere.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com