Review of Before Sunrise (1933) by Bob R — 12 Feb 2014

Before Sunrise is the first of the movies that make up the 'Before' trilogy directed by Richard Linklater. Though it may seem like a simple story that any movie could have done before or after it, Before Sunrise is a simplistic romance crafted with excellent execution.

The setting is a train, moving through Europe, on it's way to Vienna. Jesse is a regular guy, by himself, sitting on the train, just staring out the window. Up ahead at the front of the train car, is Celine, a young girl from Paris, who at the particular moment can barely stand the bickering of her foreign neighbours on the train. Celine grabs her bags, and makes her way down the aisle to the back of the car, directly across from Jesse. From here, Jesse and Celine use the angry couple as leaway into a much deeper conversation. The conversation delves into one another's personal lives, to the point where they are both very interested in each other. The train lands in Vienna, where Jesse needs to get off, but Celine is conflicted when Jesse asks her to come with him. She's supposed to go home, but is to invested in Jesse's character, with really nothing better to do in Paris. The two continue to bond and share stories throughout a night in the city of Vienna the pair don't want to forget. With the great distance between them, and Jesse needing to go home, what happens to these two hopeless romantics after the sun rises?

It's such a simple concept. Two strangers on a train. It really does come off as the ideal starting point for anybody's dream relationship. To connect with a mysterious stranger on the most unbelievable spiritual level, beyond what words could describe. This is the beginning that Linklater has given himself as he continues to paint the picture along the way. He's got characters, and he's got a place. That's all you need to tell a love story. At least that's what Linklater thinks. Or rather that he knows. The whole movie is one extended conversation, as we follow Jesse and Celine throughout the night. There's nothing else to it, just the backdrop of a gorgeous city, and two people talking. This movie is completely structured around the screenplay and every inch of the dialogue spoken. It's so retardedly well written, it's almost hard to grasp. I haven't seen the other two movies of the series, but so far I'm really liking what I see. With the material provided here, it's some of the strongest writing of seen in film. We learned everything we needed to about Jesse and Celine through hundreds of thousands of words. Just the way they speak, what they say and discuss, contribute to the great character development that Before Sunrise features. You begin to show connection with the characters when you realize the darker it gets out, the closer the two are to never seeing each other again. It's a simple movie that knows how to fill the viewer with anxiousness and worry for the characters and their happiness. It's one of the best parts of the movie.

The movie really makes us question the idea of love. The more the topic of love is discussed in Before Sunrise, the more it branches off into what it means to live. What is life? Is it just memories of a past life? Are we reincarnated? Is love real, and if so, is it the not the most selfish thing somebody can do? Before Sunrise raises so many general yet philosophical questions, that somehow strangely take the words out of our mouths, or even saying what we can't. It sounds weird, but I sometimes felt a bit of a sappier seinfeld-esque kind of discussion going on with the two characters. The things they talk about are deep ideas, but draped in the mundane. Seeing that style of character banter in a much more dramatic work is pretty refreshing.

As far as the performances go, this movie feels real as shit. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy find a way to portray Jesse and Celine in the most natural way possible, and it's fuckin' scary. The movie like I stated earlier, features fantastic dialogue. However, the real, natural feel of Hawke and Delpy's performances, make the whole movie feel like it was near completely improvised. It felt like two people just chatting face to face, perfectly personifying strangers turning into what seemed like life long friends. It is a scary good transition, and it just makes the character development all that much better. Linklater also provides great choice when it comes to how music played a part in the film, along with the perfect shots of Vienna to give the movie an already overflowing vibe of elegance. It's the kind of romance film that is a tad formulaic while being completely nontraditional at the same time. It interests me how the movie gains so much from it's nuances and minor details, in order to tell the story to the high quality that it is. It's a refreshing take on the genre, that's got me interested for the next two movies that follow.

Before Sunrise is fantastic in it's writing and character development thanks to impeccable storytelling on behalf of Richard Linklater.