Before Midnight
Now playing at Fifth Avenue and International Village
Audiences have been following the love story between Celine and Jesse for 18 years, courtesy of collaborators Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy and Richard Linklater. It is one of the most enduring of onscreen romances, if critical acclaim is any indication.
In 1995s Before Sunrise, American writer Jesse (Hawke) convinced French student Celine (Delpy) to get off a train and spend time with him in Vienna. In Before Sunset, nine years later, Jesse has written a book based on their hours-long relationship and Celine has tracked him down. In Before Midnight, the couple, now in their 40s, is finally together; however, the heady days of new romance is behind them, and malaise has set in.
The couple lives in Paris with their twin daughters. Jesse works on his third book while Celine has been offered her dream job. But Jesses 14-year-old son from his first marriage has spent six weeks with them in the Peloponnes, and his departure has Jesse ruminating on his failure as a father and as a role model: He doesnt even know how to throw a ball.
This is where couples break up Im actually surprised we lasted this long, says Celine, quick to over-analyze the situation. A relationship that at first seems stable shows cracks, dissolving into he said/she said, a sexual putdown, and one or two slammed doors.
The third instalment is every bit as talky as the first two: there is driving and talking, walking and talking, drinking and talking. Theres even foreplay and talking. The characters sermonize about the writing process, American culture, childbirth, sex and feminism. Its challenging, and downright disappointing if you are craving a Harlequin Romance-style story arc.
We are a continent led to believe that love can be found on reality TV, after all, thanks to The Bachelor, Elimidate, For The Love of Ray J pick your poison. For Canadian and American audiences, an airbrushed love story built on conversation and absent of silicone implants may not always compute.
Plus, the plot is not particularly endearing. The kid-cuteness doesnt take centre stage, for example, though under more mainstream direction the wavy-haired twin girls who play the couples children could certainly have been exploited for that purpose. Celine demands more than motherhood for her life, remembering that when the girls were infants she felt like she was doing it all wrong, and wanted to kill herself more than once. My greatest fear is becoming a submissive housewife, she says. (If Meg Ryan said a similar thing to Tom Hanks at some point, we certainly didnt believe her.)
Director Linklater offers lovely, intimate vistas. In one scene the couple chats in a tiny Byzantine-era chapel, while in a lengthy dinner party scene we feel as though we have a seat at the table. He doesnt shy away from long takes, letting the actors expose themselves to our lengthy scrutiny.
And for those of us orbiting the same age and life challenges as Celine and Jesse, the issues brought up are all too familiar. Credit goes to screenwriters Linklater, Hawke and Delpy for making the torrent of perceptive sometimes pretentious dialogue raw and real for viewers. It remains to be seen whether well see Jesse and Celine exchanging verbal jabs into senility, but Ill be watching.
