The Conversation - A Review of "Before Midnight"

Have you ever met someone in fleeting moment and had one of those epic hours long conversations where you talked about everything and nothing at all? And then because it was just a moment in time you were left to wonder, "what if?".  What if you didn't have to go back to your lives, what if you were brave enough to follow them where they were going, etc...  That is what the "Before" saga does for us. "Before Midnight" is the conclusion of Jesse and Celine's conversation that started almost 20 years before.

What resonates for me is that I've been in this place before but with none of the follow through and all of the heartache.  When watching romantic films you do bring your own experiences into them and in 1995 at the age of 17/18 I was definitely willing to believe that you could make an instant connection with someone and have an epic day like they did and by the time of Sunrise, I had already experienced enough of life to have romantic "what ifs" and regrets.  These films are touchstones and there is comfort and a sense of resolution.

When "Before Sunset" (2004) came out I was afraid that they wouldn't be able to catch the magic of "Before Sunrise"(1995) [side-note the amusement park in Vienna is perfect for this] but it was deeper and more realized than the first.  That could be because Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy had also changed and grown and had a hand in writing the screenplay.  The thing that comes across in these films is that we are seeing two people that are completely comfortable with each other and seeking out the truths in their relationships.  These are not the kind of romances we are used to seeing on screen,  there are no madcap scenarios, we never question where this is going because we know.  Jesse and Celine are hashing it all out in front of us, not conferring with others or playing games with each other in the ways that we are so used to seeing on screen.

In this film what we are seeing two people in love as they go into their 40's and questioning everything about each other but talking about it and confronting it.  Isn't that all that we all want to do, really dive into the heart of matters with the one that we love and see what happens? It is scary and exciting and the stakes are high.  What is amazing is that they've been able to keep us interested and all they are doing is talking for 109 minutes. They are supposed to be having a romantic night away from the children on their last night in southern Greece and walk to a hotel that has been set up for them. And while the get to the foreplay it is interrupted and the talking continues.

It is nice to see Delpy and Hawke together, older with lines in their faces but still looking like themselves.  The ease with which they slip right back into being these characters they first played all of those years is amazing.  I love this movie, this saga (I am loathe to call it a trilogy) because it feels real and the emotion between the characters has deepened and expanded with time like good relationships do, it isn't perfect but it is love.  "Before Midnight" is a movie for grown-ups and I'd be happy to revisit this couple in another decade.