"The most provocative film of the year," teases the tagline on the "Blue Valentine" DVD/Blu-ray sleeve, right underneath Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams getting in on (outdoors no less).
Surefire soft-core skin flick with celebs? Not quite.
Despite what the marketing (and the film's original NC-17 rating) might lead you to believe, "Blue Valentine" is a breakup drama that exposes more nerve endings than flesh. Sure there are a handful of admittedly frank sex scenes between the film's two gorgeous leads. Are they explicit? Not so much. Do they depict the couple's volatile dynamic? You betcha!
The critically acclaimed two-hander opens with married couple, Dean (Gosling) and Cindy (Williams), on rocky ground. To get things back to where they used to be, the two pack up and head out to a tacky themed hotel for a night away from home. Suffice to say, things don't go quite as smoothly as planned.
But it's not all doom and gloom. Throughout the flick, director Derek Cianfrance (who oddly enough, resembles Gosling to a T) interweaves playful scenes that trace the couple's romantic courtship. The chemistry between the two leads is killer, so watching the two lovebirds fall for each other is pure cinematic bliss -- which makes their eventual downfall painful to watch.
Gosling and Williams throw themselves into their roles with the abandon they've become known for over the years. Both film stars who got their start on TV (Gosling on "The Mickey Mouse Club"; Williams on "Dawson's Creek"), Gosling and Williams have become indie darlings for delivering baring, brave turns in a wildly diverse slate of films. Their first collaboration together yields career best performances from the hot duo.
Together they make sweet music…Of the Adele variety.
Extras: Cianfrance sits down with his co-editor Jim Helton for an informative audio commentary to dish on how the project came together, why the cast improvised on set and other interesting little tidbits. Also included: 20 minutes of (actually good) deleted scenes, a short behind-the scenes featurette, and the disc's coolest feature, "Frankie and the Unicorn," a home movie made by Williams and Gosling, shot during the rehearsal process.
