wesfincher:

“There’s plenty of oral sex scenes in a lot of movies, where it’s a man receiving it from a woman – and they’re R-rated. Ours is reversed and somehow it’s perceived as pornographic. How is it possible that these movies that torture women in a sexual context can have an R rating but a husband and wife making love is inappropriate?” – Ryan Gosling

“Mainstream films often depict sex and violence in a manner that is disturbing and very far from reality. Yet, the MPAA regularly awards these films with a more audience friendly rating, enabling our culture’s desensitization to violence, rape, torture and brutality. Our film does not depict any of these attributes. It’s simply a candid look at the difficulties couples face in sustaining their relationships over time. Blue Valentine opens a door for couples to have a dialogue about the everyday realities of many relationships.” – Michelle Williams

“I think the MPAA has to re-evaluate its stance on things. I feel like my kids will see far worse things during commercials on football games – violence and guns. Blue Valentine is just about intimacy and emotion. There’s very little nudity in the film. It’s more about naked emotions. We tried to treat the sexuality in Blue Valentine with responsibility. There are consequences to the sex in the film. We treated the sex as we treated every other scene – with a certain kind of honesty and raw integrity.” – Derek Cianfrance

The cast and director of Blue Valentine reacting to the MPAA’s initial decision to realease the film with a NC-17 rating. The film was later reevaluated and released with an R rating.