Film Review: Perfect ‘Before Midnight’ Captures Truth of Romance

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunrise” brilliantly captured the live-in-the-moment romanticism of youth, that time in our 20s when anything was possible before the dawn. “Before Sunset” depicted romance in a time when potential turns into actuality in our 30s, how we need to grab that chance at happiness before time runs out at twilight.“Before Midnight,” opening this weekend, takes the characters from these films, the beloved Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), a step further, perfectly capturing how long-term relationships are built both on decisions made and hopes for the future. Midnight ends one day but is also the middle of the night, moving on to the next adventure together with the weight of what came before and the knowledge that another day has begun. It is as remarkable a film as you’re likely to see this year, a true masterpiece that deserves to be a part of any conversation about the best films about relationships ever made.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

Jesse has just dropped his son Hank off at a Greek airport and the goodbye has rattled him. As he drives with his wife Celine back through the Greek ruins, the landscape takes on a symbolic tone but it’s not overplayed. When one considers how much the history of these two and their indeterminate future will play in what is essentially the movie-long conversation that they’re about to undertake, it’s hard to believe that the opening setting contains no symbolism. They drive through ruins of the past that they talk about stopping and visiting but just keep moving through for the sake of the sleeping children, speaking of how they’ll come back later. Jesse and Celine definitely will come back to their own fears of the past and future later.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Before Midnight” in our reviews section.

“Before Midnight” is essentially three scenes: The drive back from the airport, in which Jesse suggests that perhaps they may want to move to get closer to Hank while Celine mentions a potential job that would make that impossible, the prep for and eating of dinner with a few of their friends in Greece, and an hour-long walk to a hotel room in which Jesse & Celine are supposed to have a romantic night away from their children but the swirling conversations about their past and future gets intense.

“Before Sunset” ended with one of the most romantic moments in cinema history but it was a scene in which most heart-swollen viewers failed to recognize the truth that we were watching a man leave his wife and child when he stayed with Celine. “Midnight,” as much as any film I can remember, grasps that even the best, most romantic decisions come with repercussions. Perhaps if Jesse had shown more concern for his wife when he left her for Celine, there wouldn’t be such bad blood between them that impacts his relationship with Hank. Every decision, even the romantic ones, don’t just have an impact in a vacuum, they impact future decisions down the road – from getting off the train to staying with Celine to taking a walk to a hotel in Greece. They’re all linked.

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Before Midnight” review.

Before Midnight
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Classics