Ever since Derek Cianfrance’s drama Blue Valentine debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, people have been blown away by how different the film is from other traditional dramas.
Cianfrance’s first narrative film stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as Dean and Cindy, a young married couple whose relationship is starting to fall apart. Unlike how that fairly common situation has been handled in other conventional character dramas, Cianfrance’s film goes back and forth in time, showing us how the two of them first met and ended up together, then returning to the present day where that innocent first love is long gone. The results are quite startling, not just from the naturalistic performances by the two actors, but also due to the dreamy score by Grizzly Bear, which culminates in some of the most stirring end credits of the year.
Few people who watch the movie will realize how long it took the filmmaker to get Blue Valentine made, having been developing the script for nearly 12 years and having cast his two actors years before they finally were able to start filming.
A few weeks back, ComingSoon.net sat down with Cianfrance for the video interview below and we were able to talk to him about:
* What got him started on making the movie
* How the movie changed from the film’s inception to production
* Discussing the mystery aspect of the film
* Talking about the divisiveness of audiences who see the film and how people take sides in the relationship
* Getting the two actors on board and developing their characters
* Trying to avoid “fake moments” and making something that felt natural
* Whether he ever thought about making the movie with non-actors
* Getting hipster band Grizzly Bear to do the film’s score
* His next film titled “The Place Behind the Pines”
And More!
Blue Valentine opens in New York and L.A. on Wednesday, December 29 and then will expand into more cities on January 7. Look for our interview with Michelle Williams before then.
