Film Review: Before Sunset

Director: Richard Linklater

A 2004 romantic drama that is the sequel to Before Sunset that was filmed nine years before, the characters of Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) return nine years older and meet in Paris as Jesse is promoting his book which is based on the night they spent together. The film takes a similar path to its predecessor in that the film revolves around the couple discussing life and themselves as they wander around a European city. The screenplay was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) reunite

We quickly learn about the outcome from the sequel about our their lives were immediately afterwards and whether they did in fact meet up again in Vienna 6 months later. The acting is deeply impressive again as both leads manage to pick up their characters with apparent ease after a 9 year gap since they last worked as these characters. Like many young adults they have more experience of real life and love but are still as quietly optimistic as ever about life which I love.

In many ways its the body language and unspoken words that leap out at you as they awkwardly reunite but even so the dialogue is still appealing and improved from the previous film. The conversations are more pointed and relevant to the characters themselves which creates a more compelling narrative than about the larger philosophical questions of the time. Once again the film struggles to match its run-time as the conversations lull whilst you wait for the conclusion of the movie and the what happens next but in this case its a more satisfying conclusion.

2.5/4 Improvement on its predecessor in many areas.