Before Sunset Film Review

Before Sunset - " Life's hard. It's supposed to be. If we didn't suffer, we'd never learn anything" 

Before Sunset is a rare example where the sequel turns out to be better than the first film. The team of Richard Linklater (director), Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke waited 9 years to write an appropriate evolution of these two very complicated characters and it paid off, it was never going to be for a cash grab or shelling out a sequel to please the fans. It was necessary to let the characters age and then set the film 9 years after the events of "Before Sunrise" to deliver a realistic continuation of this story. It also takes place in real time, Jesse & Celine are given one afternoon together to at last reunite. The story follows them stroll through Paris for the afternoon before Jesse must catch a flight back to New York. Again just like the first film a deadline approaches but our characters have matured and essentially already know one another so there isn't an extreme sense of urgency like in the first film, which gives it a relaxed tone. It was shot in sequence over 15 days all shot during one of the hottest Parisian summers to date and only in afternoons to keep with the continuity.

With age comes wisdom so the conversations they explore in this film are entirely different to the first film, ranging from unjustified wars, religion or the lack thereof, the environment & failed relationships. None of love though which contradicts the genre the film is set in, a romance with no love but the potential for love. Just like the first film the screenplay was written by the the director alongside Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy. For years they fleshed out dialogue that would be appropriate for the characters. It's not hard to see why it was nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay. The acting combined with the script is just so natural looking, it cements the audience in Paris as we accompany Jesse & Celine for one afternoon 9 years on. The dialogue is flowing, it's interesting & it's nothing short of poetic. There is unforeseen foreshadowing in the beginning of the film about cynicism and romantics which in turn leave the films tone completely up to the audience. 

The film is crafted in such a way that 80 minutes of pure dialogue completely captures the audiences attention and never lets up. Why can't they just decide to be a couple already? We learn that Jesse is in a miserable marriage but has a 4 year old son he adores and Celine is in a relationship with a photographer who is away for 6 months of the year which is "convenient" for her. It begs the question have they been unconsciously longing for each other all these years? It's apparent the affection is still present and the ever nagging deadline of a flight back home becomes seemingly less & less important to Jesse as he continuously justifies to Celine that he has a little time left before having to depart. Not wanting to leave her company lest he never see her again. The ending to this film is so ambiguous and yet at the same time completely clear as to what happens to our characters. It ends with one line of dialogue from Jesse which could send his relationship with Celine down two very different roads. The audience get's to decide the ending which is why the script is so highly regarded. Everything is setup from the beginning of the film and as it progresses it's a ticking time bomb for the cynics and the romantics to make a decision on how the film ended. Highly recommended & has wonderful replay value. 5/5