Review of Before Sunset (2004) by Ryan L — 21 Sep 2016

Wow, who would have guessed that the indie romance drama would get a sequel? And a damn good one at that. Before Sunset picks up 9 years after the events of Before Sunrise. Jesse (an even better Ethan Hawke) is on a tour for his book, inspired by the one night he spent with Celine (once again a great Julie Delpy), and then Jesse notices Celine at one of his signings in Paris. Now that they are reunited, they walk around Paris before Jesse has to catch a flight, once again talking about their lives, and everything that had both changed and stayed the same.

One thing that this movie has that Before Sunrise did not, was an extremely short run time. At only 81 minutes, this film goes by quick, but it leaves an impression for sure. Once again with brilliant acting, directing, and writing, this movie is just as good as its predecessor. In fact it may be even better. The writing is now even better with Hawke and Delpy assisting with the script and writing massive amounts of their own dialogue. The acting is now more matured and you can see that their characters have grown as people, making them even more real than the writing does. And the directing is still beautiful with gorgeous long takes with an inventive style to them. Truly a master class in film making. And with no spoilers here, I will say that the ending is so beautiful, and it reveals so much about both characters and it makes you as a viewer appreciate everything leading up to it so much more. By far a better ending than the first film making it a much more powerful and memorable ending.

Overall this movie is just as good if not better than the last. everything is still perfect and the ending left me with the biggest smile on my face. Absolute perfection!!!

10/10.