For some of us, the on screen romance that has slowly played out between Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke over the course of two decades – and now three spectacular movies – is part of the fabric of our cinematic lives. We have sort of grown with them and feel the same feelings they felt at different junctures in their lives. Richard Linklater is probably the greatest storyteller of our generation who conceived this wonderful yet simple trilogy.
In Before Sunrise, the actors - whose improvisations and revisions added much to an original script by Richard Linklater- played two young travelers whose lives cross
during a talk-filled night in Vienna. Nine years later, Delpy and Hawke
were sharing screenwriting credits- and an Oscar nomination- for Before Sunset,
wherein the couple meet for only the second time, their respective
lives having moved on, but the brief encounter spark between them still
clearly very much alive. That film ended on an ambiguous note – a
teasing spine-tingler that left the audience to decide whether Jesse
catches the plane back to his old American life, or stays in Paris for
something more...
Before Midnight takes place nine years after the events of Sunset. Jesse and
Céline are still together and have managed to have twin girls, Nina and
Ella, and are living in Europe. The film takes place at the tail end of
a six-week vacation in Greece where Jesse has just dropped off his
thirteen-year-old son Hank, from his previous marriage, at the airport
for his return back to Chicago. Realizing that he's missing the
formative years of Hank's teenage life, Jesse and Céline explore the
option of possibly making a move to America, leaving opportunities and
a life in Europe behind. Obviously there's no big fantasy battle or a near death
experience for the meaning of life to be physically
explained but in the power of words, and words alone, Before Midnight
manages to become the benchmark for screen writing and brilliant
storytelling for years to come. There are long takes for the viewer to be
present whether it's in an airport conversation between Jesse and Hank
or at a lunch with in the beautiful valleys of Greece or even in a
hotel room where a man and a woman share intimacy like older lovers
typically do.The whole film basically consists of these three scenes but if you are a follower of the series, you would know it would not feel boring for one single moment.
This film is a lot more melancholic in tone than the previous two installments, but life is not all about the sparky romances and the excitement of impulsive decisions, is it???? Once life settles in, there are responsibilities and decisions are to be made which much thought behind them, and as Jesse and Celine finds out, it is often a case of conflicting choices and making compromises. Before Midnight portrays the not so romantic but practical side of a couples life after having kids and settling after marriage.Time was when they mesmerised one another with their ramblings about life
and art; now, it's a disillusioned account of what they've done to one
another. Is it fair for Jesse to ask Celine to move to Chicago with him? Is it justified for Celine to blame Jesse for her lack of development in her musical career?? Who has made the more compromises and sacrifices??? These are questions which are to be decided by the audience but somewhere some of these questions haunts the life of couples at one point or the other, and the two lead actors, as usual, has given a near realistic depiction of the situation. I was particularly impressed with Julie Delpy, who has given her best performance so far in the series. Her portrayal of a bimbo and the Woody Allenesque one liners were just brilliant.
What the film conveys so impressively is the scene-by-scene, almost
moment-by-moment uncertainty of what will happen to the couple next.
Theirs has always seemed a passionate but fragile bond, and the way they
stare at a slow-sinking sun towards the end casts an ambiguous haze over what their future holds. Will they get over their differences or the tension is too much?? I am not sure if there will be a fourth installment , but if there is not, some viewers may complain that the ending was not they expected . But life is not always as we want them to be, isn't it????
WORTHY MENTIONS
This movie was shot in 15 days.
Dedicated to the memory of Amy, the woman who was the inspiration for Before Sunrise (1995). Richard Linklater had spent a night walking and talking around Philadelphia with her, but eventually they lost contact. Some time between Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013), he finally learned that Amy had died many years before in a traffic accident, so he dedicated the movie to her.
MY VERDICT
**** - Don't miss this if you are a fan of the series.
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