I had a bunch of ideas for what that song could be, but I didn’t feel it was right for me to give Ryan a song to give to Michelle. And so I gave him a challenge and let him pick out a song for her. Ryan has a great taste and the song he picked out was You and Me by Penny and the Quarters. And I thought it was just great. So I told Ryan to keep the song a secret, and never share it with Michelle until we were shooting. So they day came to shoot the scene, Ryan had the song in his back pocket, and we captured the real moment where one person gives an other person the gift of music. The gift, because it came from Ryan, was personal. Michelle was touched deeply by it. What happens on the screen is a real, living and breathing, intimate moment.

Derek Cianfrance

there are reasons this movie is in my top 5 favorite of all time.