REVIEW: Before Midnight

Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

A loquacious refuge in an unrelenting barrage of explosions and CGI, the latest from director Richard Linklater resumes the fascinating conversation about love and destiny he began in 1995’s Before Sunrise and continued with 2004’s Before Sunset. Along for the journey, as always, are Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as Jesse and Celine, the films’ dreamy protagonists. (The actors also collaborated with Linklater on the screenplay, as they did with the previous sequel.)

In the first film, Jesse and Celine are 20-somethings who meet on a train in Europe. The two spend the night walking around Vienna together, talking and falling in love. The next morning, Jesse heads back to the U.S. but the two agree to meet at the same spot in six months.

Before Sunset picks up nine years later, with Jesse now a successful novelist. He runs into Celine on the Paris leg of his book tour, and the two spend some time catching up. As the movie plays out in almost real time, viewers learn if they met up at that train station and what transpired in the following years. I’m not exaggerating when I say the film has one of the best endings of all time.

Now there’s Before Midnight, taking place another nine years down the road. To disclose where Jesse and Celine are at this point in their lives would be cruel, mainly because it would rob you of a reveal that made me smile until my face hurt. My allergies might’ve also kicked in at that point, though I can’t say for sure.

Fans of the Before series know that much of the movies’ appeal comes in those moments when you get a crucial piece of information that establishes the narrative’s context and how the next couple of hours are going to play out. This time around, those pieces of information are delivered with a creeping acidity, as if the real world is encroaching on paradise.

Yes, it’s tough to see Jesse and Celine as actual people with flaws and selfish motives. But their behavior – especially their anxiety-inducing arguments – adds a degree of authenticity to their relationship, as well as depth to characters that are in constant danger of becoming too idealized.

It helps that Hawke and Delpy remain incredible in what are now their signature roles. Jesse has evolved from an overconfident cynic into something of a sap as he hits middle age, while Celine has reached a place in her life where it would be easy to surrender to bitterness. It is absolute magic when the two complement each others’ strengths, but their more irritating traits threaten to derail their entire relationship.

Even though the film is literally nothing but people talking for 109 minutes, it’s mesmerizing thanks to the chemistry between Hawke and Delpy, the screenplay’s piercing dialogue and Linklater’s dedication to capturing the most gorgeous scenery imaginable.

If you haven’t experienced the absolute joy that is the Before series, I urge you to catch up on the first two films and check out Before Midnight this weekend (it’s scheduled to play at Arbor Place Mall in Douglasville). As for me, I look forward to seeing what Jesse and Celine are up to in 2022.

Before Midnight is rated R for sexual content/nudity and language.

Grade: A