(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Michelle Williams spent six years perfecting her Blue Valentine character.

The actress plays Cindy in the movie, with Ryan Gosling portraying Cindys husband Dean. The film charts the history of the couples relationship, revealing how hard it can be to keep a marriage together.

As the film focuses more on the difficulties couples often experience it was a long time in the making. Derek Cianfrance wrote and directed it, and it took him 12 years to get financial backing.

Its sort of dealing with the unglamorous side of love. It deals with the glamorous side as well, but it tries to have balance and focus on the negatives as well. Thats a difficult thing to get financed, Ryan explained.

I went in to the film knowing that Michelle had been committed and working on her character for about six years. I had been committed and working on mine for about four. Obviously the filmmaker has worked on it for 12 years so we all knew each other without knowing each other. We knew who we were and why we were there, so there was a trust that was kind of earned between us all.

Ryan was drawn to the part because he thinks the movie is totally different to anything which has gone before. He has previously said he hopes couples will go to see it together, as it acts as a warning of what can happen if you stop making an effort with your loved one.

This sort of picks up on what happens in that ever after portion of a relationship, he told the BBC. How do you keep love alive in the day to day, practical way. How do you keep love alive if you have to share a bathroom with somebody? How does that work? (C) Cover Media