Review of Before Midnight (2013) by Tony M — 30 Aug 2013

"Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" are two of my favorite films. I went into "Before Midnight" with a confident expectation of adding a third Richard Linklater film to that list, and I was not disappointed.

Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have lost none of the charm that made me fall in love, and sometimes, frustration with their characters while managing to truly capture the passing of time and the inevitable changes every relationship goes through. This isn't all walking and talking through Greece with the one true love of their lives at their side, though there are moments of this, but rather a real world look at a relationship built on the foundation of a fairy tale. How does that fairy tale hold up after years of being together? When does musing aloud on fate, relationships, art, etc. turn from charming to annoying?

This third act explores time, the concept of marriage, parenting, commitment, sex, faithfulness and, most poignantly, the struggle to manage those things against the backdrop of life whereas the first acts really focused on love against the backdrop of, well, love.

A little more rough around the edges, a little less romance, a little less musing, a lot more truth, "Before Midnight" makes me believe even more in these two characters. I appreciate the chance to actually be able to age with them, to see these well-crafted roles move, in real time, from sunrise to sunset, all the way towards their own midnight. I can only hope nine years from now Delpy, Hawke, and Linklater are around to keep these rich characters in my life. "After Sunrise" would be a fitting title, don't you agree?