Merrick Morton / Entertainment Weekly

The first stills of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in By The Sea popped up on Entertainment Weekly today, and we knew the real-life couple had crazy sex scenes in the film, but this paints a dramatically different picture of the two.

The movie, which is currently being shot in Malta, is set in France, and as far as the time period, Jolie tells EW, "I chose to set By the Sea in the 1970s, not only because it is a colorful and alluring era, but because it removes many of the distractions of contemporary life and allows the focus to remain squarely on the emotions that the characters experience in their journey."

Jolie plays Vanessa, a former dancer, and Pitt plays husband Roland, an American writer. The duo are miserable in the marriage, but after traveling through the country together, they seem to wake back up. But are they going to stay together? More will be revealed!

Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley tells the mag she greenlit the film because she was so moved by the script. “I was struck by the fact that she and Brad are willing to bring such a brave endeavor to screen and take audiences on this raw, emotional journey that’s simultaneously of its moment and surprisingly timeless,” she said.

Can't wait to see the first trailer for the film -- hopefully that'll be out by the holidays!