What is true love? Will you know you have it when you’re in it? Or is it another myth, and are all those married now on a collision course with divorce? “Before Midnight” (2013) tries to break the magic that the previous films worked hard to create by showing a relationship as it truly is, warts and all. If Jesse and Celine aren’t meant for each other, then we are all surely doomed.
Through the 109-minute runtime, we are pulled through an uncomfortable dinner party, a stroll through Greece that makes us reminisce about Vienna and Paris, and an argument that pushes adrenaline through our veins, as if our own parents are fighting. You will lose all hope you had of eternal love, but then completely come around to it by the end, which is exactly why Richard Linklater’s film should be deemed a modern classic.
Nine years on from their rekindling in Paris, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) are a couple with twin daughters, dropping Jesse’s son Hank (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) off at the airport after spending a whole summer with them in Greece. Jesse and Celine have new worries these days, such as Celine’s prospect of a new job that she is nervous to take, and Jesse’s worries that he isn’t a big enough part of Hank’s life. Dealing with the struggles of parenthood, adult relationships, and compromises has left the couple often at odds with one another.
Later on, they reflect on love and life over dinner with the friends who had invited them to the Greek peninsula. They ruminate on the difference between the sexes’ perspectives, whether one can be truly happy with one partner for the rest of their lives, and how Celine and Jesse first met. When a hotel room is bought for them by their friends, the couple plans to have a rare romantic evening alone. It begins positively, but as they talk, old wounds resurface, and a bitter argument ensues that rips all the band-aids off. Can this relationship survive under the strain of responsibilities and resentment?
“Before Midnight” is the third film in a trilogy of romantic movies that check in every nine years on their relationship. Ethan Hawke himself is quoted to say that “Before Sunrise” (1995) is a film about what might be, “Before Sunset” (2004) is a film about what could or should be, and “Before Midnight” is a film about what it is.
It strips away the romanticism of the previous films and gives it to you straight — this is what a relationship is like, there are jokes and responsibilities, but there are also disagreements and moments where you think maybe this can’t go on, but it does. You can chart the maturity of the three creatives throughout the films, as early on in your life, you are more hopeful about love, but by the time you’re in your forties, you’re a lot more cynical.
It was incredibly bold of Linklater, Delpy, and Hawke to make something that takes away all the things that people loved about the previous two films, the courting aspect of the narrative, where they’re talking so much about philosophy, life, and death, all because they are trying to get to know one another. In this film, however, they already know each other so well that when they’re having these discussions, they’re also filling them with small jabs to test each other. It’s heartbreaking when this all bubbles over into a full-blown row, but damn if that isn’t the best-written row you have ever seen on film.
To make an argument scene last over 30 minutes and be the best part of the movie, it has to be well-written. In “Before Midnight”, the writing for this scene is so utterly magnificent and natural that you can’t believe this isn’t just something they made up on the fly. Not a single aspect of the scene feels artificial.
The points they bring up are topics you can see that both of them are right about, and each one takes turns to be cruel to the other and say things they don’t quite mean. They know that an argument between a couple who have been in a relationship this long is not one long continuous fight, but the disagreement ebbs and flows. At times, Celine comes back in after storming out, and the row seems to be settling down, but then it erupts again, even more so.
The fact that Celine walks out the door multiple times is also so realistic and something they wouldn’t normally add in a regular film. When she finally comes back in to twist the knife further one last time — “I don’t think I love you anymore” — you can’t help but feel so lost for this relationship, wondering how anyone could come back from this. But in just one final scene, Linklater will have you believing in true love again. It’s compromise, patience, and communication that will create a long-lasting partnership, and “Before Midnight” shows this perfectly.
While I do find myself uncomfortable and cringed out during the dinner party scene in the second act, I understand why it is necessary to have this conversation between the adults at different stages of their lives, discussing sex and gender, wants and needs. It’s an uncomfortable scene, but it places small micro-aggressions between Jess and Celine that all rise to the surface later on in the film.
Shot by French-Greek cinematographer Christos Voudouris, the cinematography matches the previous iterations well. The roaming camera follows them as they walk through Greece, showing off the gorgeous scenery and landmarks as they pass by. When they reach the hotel room, the camera becomes more static, letting the audience concentrate fully on the vis-à-vis discussion between the two of them. The gorgeous theme that composer Graham Reynolds (a long-time collaborator with Linklater) uses is utterly beautiful, and the fact that it is used sparingly makes it even more wonderful.
Where could the “Before” series go next? Should it continue past the trilogy? I, for one, would love to see where Jesse and Celine’s relationship is now and what the two of them think about the state of the world we live in now. There would be some interesting perspectives from them about parenthood when their kids have flown the nest as well. But the fact of the matter is that this was a perfect way to finish the trilogy, and maybe things are best left where they are.
“Before Midnight” is a gorgeous film that poses more questions than it answers, and features one of the most natural screenplays in cinema history. Linklater is, unquestionably, an outstanding filmmaker who is able to create characters that feel so intensely real. This film really brings the fans of the series back down to Earth, showing us the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of a real relationship, but it will still have you reminiscing about the good ol’ days in 1995 or 2004.
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