Review of Before Midnight (2013) by James M — 21 May 2014
A perfect third part to a very enjoyable trilogy of films, starting in 1995 with Before Sunrise and following on in 2004 with Before Sunset.
This third movie brings the whole love story between Jesse and Celine into context.
The first movie was about love as a fantasy, focusing mostly on spontaneous passion.
The second movie was about idealistic love, with the couple having a second chance at their relationship.
Before Midnight is about realistic love. Jesse and Celine are now in their 40's, vacationing in Greece with their twin girls whilst Jesse's thoughts are mostly occupied on spending more time with his son and a custody battle with his ex-wife.
Like the previous two films, the film is very conversation focused, with a number of one-set scenes lasting 10-20 minutes each, all peppered with realistic dialogue and characters, culminating in Jesse and Celine having a rare break from their girls for an evening of romance which is on the verge of ruin by the notion that their fairytale love story is in peril.
Both Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are fantastic, just as they were in the previous two films and you can't help but feel for both characters standpoints on a crisis which has the potential to tear them apart.
All in all, this is a brilliant trilogy of a love affair which spans three decades.
This review of Before Midnight (2013) was written by James M on 21 May 2014.
Before Midnight has generally received very positive reviews.
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