It’s too f-cking much how hot he is. These photos? These photos are distracting you. But they’re nothing compared to what it’s like in person. When he’s right in front of you wearing the sh-t out of a Burberry tux. And tall. And clean shaven. And talking to you. And smiling. And teasing.
It’s too f-cking much.
This is Ryan Gosling with Michelle Williams and their young co-star Faith Wladyka last night on the carpet at the Palais. As I mentioned yesterday, he and Faith were adorable all day. And inseparable. Like, he walked into the afterparty with her in his arms. At that moment I told Laura I wasn’t sure I could continue with the interview. My legs were gone. She stuck her finger in my back and told me to “man up” and get over it. Which, conveniently, is what I told her when she was immobilised by Robert Pattinson at the du Cap last y ear.
Eventually when we were talking I teased Ryan about using a child to pick up girls. He played along – like what, I don’t know what you’re talking about... me? I’ve never thought of that before.
Whatever we talked about is a blur. Just know that it’s as I described it. When he’s speaking to you, it’s only you. He has a way about pursing his lips when you’re asking him something that doesn’t make my job easy. When he’s in a playful mood, and he was in one last night, you can banter with him forever. He’s quite subversive.
And then he moves on to the next journalist and gives them the same amazingness and you realise, that’s just him. Ryan Gosling is not Noah. He’s a player. When he’s standing next to Michelle Williams however you almost wish they’d just go ahead and get married already.
I have seen Williams on other occasions but never an interview. She is really quite delicate, fragile, not in that dainty Asian raised as a china doll dumbass way, but from the soul. Laura and I agreed that she seems rather ... pure, vulnerable, gentle, and shy but also without that ubiquitous celebrity inclination to put up a wall. People around her seem to want to protect her. It’s hard to explain and I can’t say if she’s always been this way but there’s something about Michelle Williams that’s very light, that you don’t want to corrupt.
And she is gorgeous. Barely any foundation, ridiculously perfect skin, a really sweet smile, and the dress.... we LOVED the dress. I know it looks like a pink sack but in person, when she walked and you could see the lines of her body underneath it, and the exquisite rope detail around the shoulders, with her amazing blonde haircut, on her it worked very well. When he put his arm around her it worked even better.
As for Blue Valentine – it’s GOOD, it’s bare, it’s authentic, it’s troubling. And it succeeds in making you feel like you’re there with them in the relationship. When they’re happy, you’re really happy, when they’re not, you’re really not, like it’s too real, and it gets uncomfortable. When he fails her, it’s uncomfortable. Because when you fail someone you love, that disappointment is universal. And that disappointment stays with you. I felt real sadness when they realised it had all changed. And I find it interesting too the constant struggle between a perspective shaped by your senses and one that’s informed by your thoughts. It would be easy to side with him, because he’s so sexy, because he’s the great boyfriend, because he loves her like a poem. But it’s unfair to condemn her for wanting more than just the sexy parts. Some of my colleagues disagreed but I came out of there with the notion that we’re expected to choose. And I choose her. But only after fighting with myself about how much I’d want him to love me the way he loved her. It’s the easy answer to call him the ideal man. And to blame her unhappiness on her own personal dissatisfaction because the romanticism is so much more seductive than the rational. Would love to know if you feel the same. Were you compelled by the same urge to decide between who failed who less? Were you seduced onto his side because by the potency of his words without the subsequent fulfillment? Movies are not often as accurate in their portrayals of real relationships the way books can be. Sometimes it’s a matter of economy of words and time, but most of the time they simply can’t get it right because moviegoers don’t want to see what’s at home. Watching Blue Valentine is like reading a book and understanding the connection between two people the way you do when you’ve lived with them in your head after a few hundred pages.
Can’t wait for this to hit theatres. The acting, it’s incredible, an outstanding display of skill by both Williams and Gosling really coming into their talent.
I’m warning you before you watch this clip. It’s best avoided if you actually want to accomplish something today.
Photos from Wenn.com and Foto Jacopo/KCSPresse/Splashnewsonline.com and Francois Durand/ John Shearer / ANNE-CHRISTINE /Gettyimages.com
