Blue Valentine was one of the most critically commended drama/indie films starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in the lead. Yet while it was easy to criticize or appreciate the movie on the big screens, it was equally hard for the actors who shot the film: Especially since they even had to live together for a month to get the most accurate take of all the emotions displayed in the film.
But even that wasn’t the worst part: The worst part was when the pair had to shoot the provocative intimate scenes for the film, which Williams has labeled as ‘toxic’ and which took ‘forever to film’. In fact, it was so tough for both the actors that those scenes took a really bad toll on both Ryan Gosling as well as Michelle Williams.
The Intimate Scenes In Blue Valentine Took A Toll On Michelle Williams
In Blue Valentine, Michelle Williams plays the character of Cindy Heller – a young, ambitious nurse who comes from a toxic family. Considering the background of Cindy, it must have been equally tough for the actress to fully embody her character throughout the six years that she prepared for the role.
Furthermore, she even had to shoot provocative intimate scenes for the film with co-star Ryan Gosling, which didn’t suit her all too well. Talking to W Magazine, the Venom actress said:
“We never rehearsed anything, and those were really dark days. We shot the beginning of our relationship first, and it was fun and alive,” Williams said. “Then we did the s-x scenes and it was…toxic. Ryan and I had stopped relating to each other as Ryan and Michelle. Those scenes took forever.”
Continuing, Williams shared how she escaped the trauma that those scenes brought in for her.
“I had a long drive from set to home each night, and I would roll down all the windows and turn up the music as loud as I could, and hang my head out the window like a dog and scream. It was my escape.”
However, Michelle Williams wasn’t the only victim here: Ryan Gosling had to go through the same as well.
Ryan Gosling Wasn’t Spared From The Trauma Either
Ryan Gosling embodies the character of Dean Pereira in Blue Valentine. A high-school dropout with no professional ambition in life, he falls in love with Cindy Heller at first sight and goes on to become a painter to provide for his family after marrying Michelle Williams’ character.
While Williams suffered incredibly throughout the toxic scenes during the shoot, Gosling was no exception either. Speaking with MTV News about the s-x scenes, the Barbie actor said:
“You mean the trying-not-to-have-s*x s*x scene? It was hard…a lot of times actors can trick people into thinking something is happening when it’s not happening, and we had to call ourselves out on anything that didn’t feel honest,” Gosling said.
He further shared his experience and how he coped with it, saying:
“Actors become very professional and proficient about watching out for each other’s light and not stepping on each other’s lines. All of these things are artificial, and you have to strip that away if you’re going to achieve a sense of intimacy. In real life s*x is messy, and we wanted to get at that wonderful messiness.”
Turns out that not only the characters but the actors in Blue Valentine also faced the trauma and toxicity of the film’s storyline.
