Derek Cianfrance writes and directs this unflinching portrayal of a once-loving relationship in freefall. When Cindy (Michelle Williams) and David (Ryan Gosling) first met, they were passionately in love - but over their five years as a couple they have grown apart. Boredom and disenchantment come to the fore as they fumble their way through the sexless emotional vacuum of their humdrum life in rural Pennsylvania; looking helplessly back to the days when life still seemed filled with excitement and romance.