Film Review: Before Midnight

Director: Richard Linklater

The third installment in the franchise that has now been running for 18 years as we seem to check-in on the lives of Jesse and Celine every nine years, with their lives in very different places each time. Richard Linklater is once again back to direct and write the screenplay along with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy who also get writing credits. The film was shot in Messenia in Greece with a lot of the production team being locals from the area.

Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) are now married with twin daughters after the finale of Before Sunset where Jesse agreed to miss his plane back to American to be with her. They are holidaying in Greece over the summer and Jesse has just sent his son from his previous marriage, Hank (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick), back to America which upsets him greatly as he feels he's missing his son grow-up. This among other issues start to cause a few problems between the happy couple.

Jesse and Celine on the Greek Peloponnese peninsula

The format of Before Midnight is a dying breed in the world of cinema today, a film based around the conversations and interaction mainly of two people backed by an incredibly strong script and acting performances from the leads. The characters are entirely believable because they face the real world problems that couples and families are going through on a daily basis. It offers a fascinating insight into love and long term commitment after the 'honeymoon' period has worn off, the early films showed two people falling in love but the third shows what happens after that couple have been together for many years. They discussed how their entire lives revolve around the children and they no longer have the ability to be spontaneous or wander around 'bullshitting' about whatever they feel.

The arguments that ensue as the film develops make you feel like you're suddenly cast into the middle of a disagreement and you try to decipher whose right and wrong, an impossible task on the whole, as the couple move from the airey streets of Greece to a claustrophobic hotel room. Somehow two people just talking whether it be about their lives or just about things in general is thrilling and entertaining viewing, this mainly comes down to the script. Both Celine and Jesse take up familiar roles in modern relationships but its refreshing to see that some couples, like in real life, don't just live happily ever after.

3.5/4 Funny and yet sadly moving drama is the best of the three