Before Midnight is a love story that gets better with age

By Chris Tookey

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Before Midnight (15)

Verdict: Talky, but it's good talk

Rating: 4 Star Rating

Maturity: Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke in Before Midnight

Maturity: Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke in Before Midnight

Like Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, Before Midnight is a hugely welcome antidote to summer blockbusters.

Fans of the first two films in this series, Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004), will need no encouragement to see the third. This is one of the few sequels for which the cliche ‘eagerly awaited’ is truly applicable.

Before Sunrise was all about the sexual attraction and culture clash between American Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Frenchwoman Celine (Julie Delpy) who met on a train in Europe. 

I found the young Celine over-earnest and humourless, and Jesse charmless and bland.
Before Sunset reunited them nine years on, with her by then an environmentalist and him a successful novelist because of the book he wrote about their love affair. 

This time, they were much more battered by life, and the love story about them falling for each other all over again was one of the most delightful, realistic and subtly subversive in years. 

Nine years further on, the pair are married, living in Paris but on holiday in Greece. Needless to say, they are still arguing. 

He is racked with guilt by his failure to be a proper father to his teenage son by his first marriage and would like to move to Chicago. She has a flourishing career in Paris and feels they are drifting apart, despite their twin daughters.

Young viewers may find it hard to empathise with the problems of a middle-aged couple for whom love is no longer as ardent as it used to be. The impatient will dismiss it as depressing and talky.

 

However, the talk is refreshingly articulate, and will strike a chord with audiences over the age of 30. 

Celine is a glass-half-empty person, determined to look on the dark side of everything. Jesse is more optimistic and easy-going. They make a good pair, but you can see why they quarrel.

Despite their me-generation values, in the end, you can’t help but like these people. It’s a delightful shock to walk into a cinema and find intelligence, wit and emotional maturity. 

The comments below have not been moderated.

Amazing film and Delpy is brilliant

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Oh man, I REALLY want to see this but no one is showing it near where I live :( Guess I'll have to wait for the DVD.

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It's a great trilogy. After you see this, go back and watch the first two. There are signs that it was well written and very thought out. A great exploration into attraction, and love - and that thing we think of as 'romantic' or egoic love and the pitfalls of thinking that those are long and lasting feelings.

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I'm so excited to see this TONIGHT :Dxxxxx - hs808 , Oxford, United Kingdom --- You won't be disappointed. I saw it last week, I'm a big fan of the first two (I own the second one, which I saw b/f the first and I still enjoyed it). It's different. It has the format of the first film, not so much the realtime one afternoon structure of the second, which seems to have thrown some people (IDK why). The emotion, pathos, the setting, the acting---Just, GAH! It's the best movie I've seen in a long time, truly. And I'm one who is frequently disappointed by their expectations.

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i love these films! cant wait to see the third. Like a fine wine, it improves with age :)

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Please don't write off all people under 30 as having the attention span of a goldfish. I am in my early 20s and prefer films like this to any Hollywood 'blockbuster'. Just because the camera isn't shaking about and there isn't a load of CGI, this doesn't rule it out for 'young people' please stop stereotyping. Cannot wait to see this.

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This is one of the few films where the sequel was better than the original. I'm looking forward to the third installment :)

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im so excited to see this TONIGHT :Dxxxxx

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I have always been attracted to these films, starting with the first one, Before Sunrise. They are charming and delightful. They do a great job of presenting the quirkiness of travel and love. I'm so pleased this further film was made!

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I abosultely LOVE all of these movies

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