Review of Before Midnight (2013) by Dierregi — 15 Jul 2013

Jesse and Celine are my favourite fictional couple. I followed them from their first meeting 20 years ago and I am still not tired with them. As I expected, this instalment is a great movie, both as stand-alone and as the third part of the series.

In this chapter, Jesse and Celine deal with the inevitable problems and disappointments of approaching middle age. They are both still very attractive and well-articulated, but now they carry the burden of responsibilities and are starting to consider the idea of their final demise.

This time they walk and talk in Greece, during the last day of a six-week holiday. Their first conversation takes place while they drive back to their friend's house. They talk about the burden of parenthood, work problems and relocating to the US. No flirting, but still excellently executed. The second long conversation is at dinner, with their friends. It touches several subjects, among which the different perception of love, according to your age. Since the age of their friends varies from early 20s to late 60s, the conversation is very compelling.

Then Jesse and Celine walk to their hotel, where their friends insisted they stay to get one night of privacy and romance. We understand clearly that nowadays they hardly ever have conversations that are not utilitarian, which makes the situation very realistic. Once they reach the hotel, drama ensues in the shape of a major argument.

Anybody who quarrelled with a loved one will undoubtedly admire the skilled way in which the argument is presented: the anger about trivial matters, the resentment about past events, the illogical change of topics…. During this exchange their national idiosyncrasies are exploited in a subtle, yet funny way (Celine cannot pronounce an English word, etc…). But no matter how bad things get with them, I still hope they will stick together and will transform their passionate love into a mature feeling.