Review of Before Midnight (2013) by Daniel R — 13 Jul 2014

Of the three "Before" films, this one is the hardest to watch. This is not because it is tragic in any way, but because it is uncomfortable. If you have watched Jesse and Celine in the first two films, you have watched a pair of young people fall in love, then grow up and reconnect and decide they want to be together.

Here, with Before Midnight, we see what became and what is likely to become of that situation, as it does when any two people decide to be together. These two know each other. They know what the other likes and dislikes.

They know each other's idiosyncrasies. They also know how to push each other's buttons. We see them do all of this. What was once a sweet couple of young people discovering love in each other's arms is now a couple enduring the hardship of having a family in difficult circumstances.

We see how they both compliment one another while also seeing how easily they can erupt towards the other. It's that raw, tense balance that this film relies on and does so perfectly, as no other film about couples does.

Like the other two "Before" films, the dialogue and scenery is wonderful, but here there is an edge to the situation because we aren't sure if this couple we've fallen in love with feel the same way about each other anymore.

In the end though, as Jesse talks to Celine about what things could be like in their 80s, we can't help but hope that a fourth film will catch up with them when they get there. The Before Trilogy, if it remains only a trilogy, is one of cinema's finest, and Before Midnight caps it off beautifully.