BEFORE MIDNIGHT (2013)
Starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy
Directed by Richard Linklater
A Sony Pictures Classics release
MPAA Theatrical Rating: R
It's safe to say that no one who caught Before Sunrise in 1995 predicted that we'd be seeing Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reprise their roles as Jesse and Celine for a third installment of walking and talking 18 years later. Before Midnight is easily the most mature film in the bunch. It's driven by conflict and crafted as something much more than two characters walking through town with a singular motivation. Jesse and Celine spend as much time nipping at each other as they do flirting this time around, and Linklater captures it all effortlessly.
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| More walking, More Talking |
The cast and crew are out to prove that love is a complicated thing, and that the wistful romantic encounter that starts a relationship isn't enough to sustain one. There's still a romantic heart beating at the center here, but it's now stressed by years and mileage. Movies about two people fighting over kids, careers, and long-entrenched habits aren't always entertaining, but this one is surprisingly funny. It may be less sunny and hopeful than its predecessors, but Linklater and his co-writers Delpy and Hawke have at least made a film that is honest in a way that even the best major studio romcoms and dramedies are not. -MJ
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