Review of Before Midnight (2013) by Offworld_Colony — 19 Feb 2020

So different yet again in this series as to be fascinating; Much more of an ensemble piece, and with kids in tow, it changes the dynamic of the film just like it does to any relationship. As does Jesse's success and artistic career, a topic explored interestingly here in ways that most likely reflect the lives of all the creators and actors involved.

We see their pragmatism as a couple, we see their family, we see their connection and we see their disdain and their evolution as people. But only at the end do we see both their hate and their love, often two sides of the same coin for long-term couples. Their love is still there, it's just shifted and adapted to their new lives with all the challenges they now have.

I always likes this movie but never connected to it previously, I thought the end was sad, deeply sad, how could two people who love each other say these things to each other? Or feel this way without a total collapse of their relationship? But now, being in a committed, long-term relationship with someone in their 40's, I know that ending well. Besides La La Land, Before Midnight has the most realistic couple fight I've ever seen, it ebbs and flows, and that entire segment harks back to Linklater's little-seen experiment Tape. It's a deep, deep character study and I hope dearly that they make another one and commit to film another era in two people's lives that we rarely see with this clarity and honesty.