Before Sunset Review
by Bob Bloom (bob AT bloomink DOT com)August 2nd, 2004
BEFORE SUNSET (2004) 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Ethan Hawke, Julie Delphy,
Vernon Dobtcheff, Louise Lemoine Torres and Rodolphe Pauly. Screenplay by Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy. Directed by Richard
Linklater. Rated R. Running time: Approx. 80 mins.
On the surface, Before Sunset simply watches two people who reconnect after 10
years walking around Paris and talking, updating each other about their lives.
To get to the core of the movie, however, you need to listen carefully not only to
what is spoken, but how the words are said.
For the movie's placid external nature hides a tumultuous emotional underside filled
with recriminations, anger, hope, compassion and love.
It has been almost a decade since Jesse and Celine spent that magical day in Vienna.
Their plans to reconnect six months afterwards went askew because of the death
and funeral of Celine's mother.
Since that time, Jesse has become a best-selling author, his novel a fictionalized
retelling of that glorious day. Celine has worked for various groups to better
humanity and the environment, and is now living in Paris.
The two meet when Jesse comes to Paris during a book tour promotion.
At first, their conversation is rather awkward. They don't know how to act or react
to each other. The body language of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy is quite successful in displaying the subtle tensions between the pair.
Their conversations at first are rather generalized — catching up on each other's
lives. Hawke and Delphy, who share co-screening writing credit with director Richard
Linklater and Kim Krizan, improvised much of their halting back-and-forth, giving the
sequences an air of authenticity.
But then the pair get more specific, probe deeper into each other, trying to determine if that one glorious day was just that — or the beginning of something
more meaningful.
Jesse eventually admits he is married and has a son. He also admits that he and his
wife are no longer communicating, that the passion has dissipated. His son is the
anchor that keeps him bound.
Celine has had a series of lovers, but cannot seem to commit. Whenever a man became too close emotionally, she would end the affair.
Gone is the adolescent innocence of Jesse and Celine's first encounter in Before
Sunrise. Now we are eavesdropping on two wounded people who spend hours denying how much they really meant to each other and how much they really need
each other.
At about 80 minutes, Before Sunset moves at a leisurely pace. Yet it holds your
attention because of the complexities of its two leads. A bit of narcissism mixed with
charm, bravado, humor and vulnerability equals two real people who want desperately to recapture the magic of an earlier time, yet fumble their way to a
more mature understanding.
Linklater creates an ambiguous ending, leaving it the couple's future to the viewer's
imagination.
Before Sunset requires patience and attention. And if you have both, it will leave
you fulfilled and a bit wistful.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be
reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Bloom's reviews also can be found at the Journal and Courier Web site: www.jconline.com
Other reviews by Bloom can be found at the Rottentomatoes Web site: www.rottentomatoes.com or at the Internet Movie Database Web site:
www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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