There's no point attempting to separate response to the third visit with Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) from those that came before—and indeed, it misses the point of what's so extraordinary about these films if you try to do so. Nine more years have passed, and this time the strolling and intense conversations take place in Greece. But what exactly has taken place in the nine years since Jesse missed a plane in Paris? I opt here to preserve a sense of discovery, but it's fair to say that Hawke, Delpy and director Richard Linklater have deepened and complicated the relationship between these characters in unexpected ways, just as they managed to do in
Before Sunset; they've also made it considerably funnier this time than either of the previous two. And much like the
Toy Story trilogy, it's not just familiarity with the characters that makes the film resonate so deeply, but watching filmmakers use the passage of time as a fundamental part of the connections between people. Even as Jesse and Celine's encounters with other people here provide glimpses at the other directions their lives might have taken had they lived in different eras, this trilogy is grounded deeply in who these people are at this moment in their lives.
Before Sunrise was about romance;
Before Sunset was about longing and regret. What
Before Midnight reveals is that, for the first time in the series, we're seeing a story about love. (Scott Renshaw)
