Review of Before Midnight (2013) by Borderlinefilms - — 05 Feb 2015

The Ms of Sisyphus.

Make no mistake, Linklater may be credited as the director, but this is a Julie Delpy film. And she's on fire! Poor Ethan Hawke. He can barely hold his own and keep stride with her. Delpy reminds us why old-school feminist rage is still so important and relevant. And even though Hawke is a loyal, easy-going stay-at-home dad, he still believes fairies will wipe his pee off the toilet seat.

I saw this movie last night in a budget cinema in a working-class neighbourhood. I heard men laugh triumphantly after Hawke would sensitively and rationally, as he put it, scold Delpy. He saw anger as a negative. She saw it as a necessity. She was inspired when her children demonstrated outbursts of anger. But Hawke has the privilege of being content. Women in the audience didn't laugh quite as hard when Delpy counter-scolded Hawke.

Two covered Islamic girls sat beside me and from their laughter I could tell they enjoyed and even related to the gender and cultural conflicts waged between the two characters. (There was an sufficient amount of American-bashing from Ms. Delpy.) But did they agree with Delpy's feminist thesis? Were they prepared to stand up to their religious and patriarchal authority figures in their household and in their community at large? Would they take to the streets and burn their hijabs along with their bras? Or was the message ironic to them? A cautionary tale of a western woman's stubborn but doomed battle for equality?

And after 50 years and counting, I wonder.