Review of Before Sunset (2004) by Offworld_Colony — 19 Feb 2020

Lean and effective. Older and wiser. Sexier but also in many ways less charged, more measured, but with a new kind of tension. Sunset is an emotionally charged powderkeg. And yet it's so undramatic and so human. Clearly, Linklater is a raw filmmaker and all involved are practising what they preach, they aren't proselytising, but they are making films about people who are segments of themselves.

Stylistically and tonally, it's a totally different film, it feels like it's grown, it's radical in just flowing almost in real-time, it follows from behind or infront, just watching them as they snatch just a little more time, something movies can rarely show well. It has the most exquisite ending I've ever seen. A soft and generous compliment to the cab ride moment where we see the deep empathetic sadness of two people somewhere they never dreamed they would be. I found it really cathartic and emotional at the end. Not sure why. I guess I’m their age now, maybe that's it. This has always been my favourite, but viewed as a trilogy, it's a perfect middle part.