‘Before Midnight’: 3rd time’s the charm

[SPOILER WARNING]

MANILA, Philippines – There was a mixture of anticipation and dread during the advance screening of “Before Midnight” organized by the film’s local distributor last June 21.

As a fan of the film, I had been looking forward to seeing the 3rd installment of a cinematic journey that began 18 years ago in 1995’s “Before Sunrise” and continued in 2004’s “Before Sunset.” At the same time, there was hesitation and more than a little nervousness — the first two films were excellent and the likelihood that the 3rd film would surpass or even just equal the thoughtfulness, originality and heart of the previous films seemed extremely slim. 

Thankfully, my worries proved unfounded. The triumvirate of writer/director Richard Linklater and writer/actors Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy achieved the near-impossible and delivered a film that not only holds its own against its predecessors, but can actually lay claim to being the best in the series. 

Watch an interview with the trio here:

Jesse and Celine meet each on a train bound for Vienna in “Before Sunrise.” They spend an extraordinary night together before separating with a promise to meet 6 months later.

It is 9 years later, however, when we see them together again in Paris in “Before Sunset.” Jesse is a novelist and Celine catches him at a reading of his book before they meander through the streets of her home city. We last see them in her apartment. Jesse fidgets with his wedding ring while transfixed at the sight of Celine dancing to Nina Simone’s “Just In Time.”

The scene fades to black and that was it. One of the most tantalizing endings in all of cinema history left audiences wondering whether Jesse ever caught his plane back to the US, or if he chose to stay to be with Celine. 

Watch it here:

Another 9 years later, in “Before Midnight,” we finally get some answers. Jesse is divorced from his wife and he and Celine are finally together living in Paris with their twin daughters. They are on vacation in the Southern Pelopponnese of Greece.

The film begins with an emotional parting at the airport — this time it is Jesse seeing his son off after he spends summer vacation with them. Jesse’s feelings of inadequacy and detachment from his son trigger tensions between him and Celine that resonate throughout the rest of the day. 

“I remember that night better than I do entire years,” Jesse tells Celine about their night in Vienna during the course of their meanderings in Paris 9 years later. Similar to the previous films, much of “Before Midnight” focuses on conversations between the two protagonists. The two talk and they talk a lot.

READ: A ‘Before Sunrise’ tour of Vienna

But while “Before Sunrise” was a getting-to-know-you journey of romantic discovery and “Before Sunset” was a treatise on the what-could-have-beens of life, the 3rd film deals with the cold realities of long-term relationships. Many of us were rooting for Jesse to stay in Paris to be with the love of his life, but we never thought about the wife and son he would have to leave behind.

In a way, “Before Midnight” improves upon the romantic film genre by unmasking the truths and consequences arising from grand gestures of love and sacrifice. It might be ugly, it might get uncomfortable, but it’s real and it’s riveting. 

Watch the trailer here:

However seriously the film tackles the ins and outs of love and romance, it is not without humor. In fact, “Before Midnight” has the honor being the funniest in the series. Julie Delpy is spot-on with her sardonic wit without losing the charm of her strong-woman character. “You are the mayor of crazy town, did you know that?” Jesse mocks Celine at one point. She does not argue with him. 

Once again, Linklater’s direction allows us, the audience, to be captivated spectators to the Jesse-and-Celine show. A dining scene with friends the couple makes in Greece could have been a colossal bore, but the dynamics between the characters turn it into an engaging highlight of the film.

A 14-minute-long driving sequence in a car, with only a brief cut to the rolling fields of Messinia, Greece, is done in one long continuous take and is a testament to Hawke and Delpy’s dedication to the craft of acting. And the sparse, economical use of piano music score is a tender accompaniment to the dramatic structure.

READ: A ‘Before Sunset’ tour of Paris

If there is one complaint about the movie, it is that the cinematography does not fully capture the nuances of the narrative the way it was with Vienna and Paris in “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset,” respectively.

Hardcore fans will get allusions in this film that relates to the other two movies, such as a story about experiments on mice that Celine and Jesse talk about in “Before Sunset” and which she repeats at the lunch table here, as well as a time machine reference in the closing moments of “Before Midnight” that could directly relate to the way in which Jesse was able to convince Celine to get off the train with him in Vienna in “Before Sunrise.”

It might be a little more difficult, but new audiences to the franchise can just as easily appreciate the film for what it is: an intelligent love story that is definitely one for the ages. – Rappler.com 

‘Before Midnight’ opens in Manila in select theaters on July 3. It is distributed locally by Reality Multimedia, Inc.

Paul John Caña is the managing editor of Lifestyle Asia magazine and is a live music geek. Email him at pjcana@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @pauljohncana.