Before Midnight (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
In 'Before Sunrise' (1995), Jesse (Ethan Hawke), an American traveling by train to Vienna, meets Celine (Julie Delpy), a French grad student on her way to Paris. Both in their early 20s, they are at ease with each other & can talk freely about, well, anything. They get off said train & spend 1 enchanted day/evening together. In 'Before Sunset' (2004), it is 9 yrs. later & Jesse is in Paris promoting his novel about their unique romance. Celine meets him, & they pick up their lively conversations about life, sex, & the meaning of it all. Both of them hold many regrets over the nature of their relationship & realize that it is now or never to connect.
And now we have 'Before Midnight', the 3rd film in Richard Linklater's trilogy about these 2 particular lovers. Again, it is 9 yrs. later, and they are finally living together in Paris. They are not married but have beautiful twin daughters; the family is at the tail end of a 6 week trip to Greece at the luxurious home of an elderly writer. At the airport, Jesse is seeing off his son Hank (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick), who had been visiting his dad and is going back home to Chicago where he lives with Jesse's problematic ex-wife. Jesse feels guilt for having been an absentee father & is thinking about asking Celine to move with him to Chicago so he can spend more time with Hank during these pivotal teenaged years. Our protagonists then get involved in a heated chat about her wanting to take a new job in Paris.
They are at a stage of life when people really start to ponder relationships, love, work, parenting, accomplishments and, well, getting older. So while she wants to come out of the homemaker/mom mold, Jesse wants to rectify his past failings (with his son). Later, at a dinner, talk turns to the nature of lasting romance, the differences btwn. the generations, and their views of 'love'. Jesse & Celine then go for a lengthy walk to a nearby hotel. Seeing them strolling & talking with such natural ease, deep feeling, & playfulness ... I was taken right back to special quality of their initial encounter in 1995. But once they reach the hotel, the mood changes as they air out their highs, lows, tensions, questions, grievances, regrets, & doubts about whether they should continue their relationship.
Richard Linklater has created a voyeuristic & thought-provoking portrait of 18 yrs. in the lives of this couple as they move from the fresh romantic love to the issues that they face when they're in their early 40s; when the freshness of said romance is gone. What I love about this film series is that they come across so honestly; authentic. They are works of fiction that could COMPLETELY be factual. It is as if you're watching a documentary unfold. Ethan Hawke has never been more appealing than he is in these movies. Whether it's the direction, the writing (he actually co-writes), or his chemistry with Julie Delpy ... he doesn't put a foot, a bat of an eye, or an emotion wrong. And Julie Delpy is amazing. Not only is she a wonderful writer, but I've always enjoyed her quirky, congenial performances.
Hawke has aged a bit since the 2004 movie and Delpy has put on a little weight, but they are still as attractive, comfortable-in-their-skin, & effervescent as ever. I could watch them walk & talk & cry & laugh & argue & make-up for hours. 'Before Midnight' is about coming to terms with 'mid-life'. Children get older. Romance can fade away. Tiny lies can add up. And this film is so special because it lets us take a peek at a stretch of life that is both all-too familiar for many couples, and yet, incredibly insightful; AND it entertains. I don't know if Linklater/Delpy/Hawke will make another "Before ..." film in 9 yrs. time -- I'm trying to think what comes between 'Midnight' and 'Sunrise' {haha} -- but if they do, I'll be sitting in a movie theater with popcorn in hand as soon as it hits theaters.
And now we have 'Before Midnight', the 3rd film in Richard Linklater's trilogy about these 2 particular lovers. Again, it is 9 yrs. later, and they are finally living together in Paris. They are not married but have beautiful twin daughters; the family is at the tail end of a 6 week trip to Greece at the luxurious home of an elderly writer. At the airport, Jesse is seeing off his son Hank (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick), who had been visiting his dad and is going back home to Chicago where he lives with Jesse's problematic ex-wife. Jesse feels guilt for having been an absentee father & is thinking about asking Celine to move with him to Chicago so he can spend more time with Hank during these pivotal teenaged years. Our protagonists then get involved in a heated chat about her wanting to take a new job in Paris.
They are at a stage of life when people really start to ponder relationships, love, work, parenting, accomplishments and, well, getting older. So while she wants to come out of the homemaker/mom mold, Jesse wants to rectify his past failings (with his son). Later, at a dinner, talk turns to the nature of lasting romance, the differences btwn. the generations, and their views of 'love'. Jesse & Celine then go for a lengthy walk to a nearby hotel. Seeing them strolling & talking with such natural ease, deep feeling, & playfulness ... I was taken right back to special quality of their initial encounter in 1995. But once they reach the hotel, the mood changes as they air out their highs, lows, tensions, questions, grievances, regrets, & doubts about whether they should continue their relationship.
Richard Linklater has created a voyeuristic & thought-provoking portrait of 18 yrs. in the lives of this couple as they move from the fresh romantic love to the issues that they face when they're in their early 40s; when the freshness of said romance is gone. What I love about this film series is that they come across so honestly; authentic. They are works of fiction that could COMPLETELY be factual. It is as if you're watching a documentary unfold. Ethan Hawke has never been more appealing than he is in these movies. Whether it's the direction, the writing (he actually co-writes), or his chemistry with Julie Delpy ... he doesn't put a foot, a bat of an eye, or an emotion wrong. And Julie Delpy is amazing. Not only is she a wonderful writer, but I've always enjoyed her quirky, congenial performances.
Hawke has aged a bit since the 2004 movie and Delpy has put on a little weight, but they are still as attractive, comfortable-in-their-skin, & effervescent as ever. I could watch them walk & talk & cry & laugh & argue & make-up for hours. 'Before Midnight' is about coming to terms with 'mid-life'. Children get older. Romance can fade away. Tiny lies can add up. And this film is so special because it lets us take a peek at a stretch of life that is both all-too familiar for many couples, and yet, incredibly insightful; AND it entertains. I don't know if Linklater/Delpy/Hawke will make another "Before ..." film in 9 yrs. time -- I'm trying to think what comes between 'Midnight' and 'Sunrise' {haha} -- but if they do, I'll be sitting in a movie theater with popcorn in hand as soon as it hits theaters.