Blue Valentine (2010)

Director: Derek Cianfrance
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, John Doman, Faith Wladyka, Mike Vogel

Take everything you know about romance in movies and throw it out the window. Heed the title: Blue Valentine isn't for those who grew up viewing love and courtship as a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan rom-com, nor anyone who fell for Ryan Gosling in The Notebook.

It's a jarring, emotionally violent look into the kaleidoscope of a broken relationship as it evolves and changes. The fragmented narrative is only intensified by the wall-to-wall Grizzly Bear on the soundtrack.