Ryan Gosling: Blue Valentine gave me marriage tips

The film follows the lives of a couple - Dean and Cindy - who have differing ambitions and this puts their union in doubt.

Ryan and co-star Michelle Williams’ on-screen chemistry has been praised, and the star admits the plot taught him a lot about married life - although not enough to put him off.

“I think it’s a cautionary tale to see this movie; it gives you a heads up, what to watch out for,” the 30-year-old told the American edition of OK! magazine. “Make sure it doesn’t happen to you.”

Ryan also liked the fact that Blue Valentine didn’t try to be over knowledgeable and purport to have answers for everything. The star said it captured his imagination and he related to its themes of everyday existence and doubt. “I think that most movies pretend that they know everything and this was a film that wasn’t pretending to know anything,” he explained. “It was just asking questions that we ask ourselves, ‘What happens to love, why does it go away?’ We spend our whole lives looking for it and we find, and once you move in together, you’ve got to share the same bathroom, it goes away.”