One of my favorite film memories is my 1995 meeting and falling in love with Jesse and Celine (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) in Before Sunrise, one of my favorite romantic films. In 2004, with Before Sunset, we meet up with them again as they encounter each other while he, now married, travels on a book tour. The magic of their dialog surprisingly held up. After nine years, a divorce and remarriage and two daughters, we begin the film in Greece with Jesse saying goodbye to his American son who is returning home to Chicago. There are glimpses of the old magic, especially where Jesse and Celine join friends around a table discussing love and commitment. The scene alone is worth the price of admission.
But somewhere along the way, I have fallen out of love with the Julie Delpy free spirit. Two Days in Paris (2007) which she wrote seems a playing with the same kind of character, but although we are supposed to find her free-spirit charming, here it only became utterly grating. Even more grating was her rehash of the same script only pairing her with Chris Rock in Two Days in New York (2012). By the end of this film I found her whiny and dismissive, and I asked myself whether some things should not have a graceful end.
But somewhere along the way, I have fallen out of love with the Julie Delpy free spirit. Two Days in Paris (2007) which she wrote seems a playing with the same kind of character, but although we are supposed to find her free-spirit charming, here it only became utterly grating. Even more grating was her rehash of the same script only pairing her with Chris Rock in Two Days in New York (2012). By the end of this film I found her whiny and dismissive, and I asked myself whether some things should not have a graceful end.
Before Midnight (2013) ***
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