Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy and Richard Linklater’s ‘Before Trilogy’

A special event to Matt Lynn Digital: This guest review of Richard Linklater‘s Before Trilogy of movies was written by blog friend Cobra.

(The three Before Trilogy films reviewed in this film are Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight).

The following review contains certain spoilers, but the films discussed are not so much about any surprise about what happens but about the emotional journey experienced by two characters over the course of two decades.

In 1995, Richard Linklater introduced us to Jesse and Céline in Before Sunrise (1995).  An aspiring writer, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is on his way back to the United States and has to catch a flight early the next morning while Céline (Julie Delpy) is returning to college in Paris. Jesse convinces Céline to leave the train with him in Vienna and over the course of the night, they explore the city, share their pasts and their hopes and dreams and falling in love along the way. They agree to meet back in the same place six months later but not to exchange contact before then.

(Julie Delpy as Céline, left, and Ethan Hawke as Jesse in Before Sunrise).

Before Sunset (2004) picks up nine years later (and was made after the same amount of time). Céline is an environmental activist and Jesse is now a published author. He is in Paris doing a book tour and Céline wanders into the small bookshop where he is reading. They never met in Vienna after six months. Céline’s grandmother had died and Jesse initially lies and says he did not return either, though later confesses that he did. Jesse is also married and has a young son waiting for him back in the US. Once again, Jesse must catch a train to connect with his flight back home, but he spends the day with Céline finally following her back home to hear her sing and dance. The film ends leaving the viewer wondering whether Jesse leaves to catch his train.

(Ethan Hawke as Jesse, left, and Julie Delpy as Céline in Before Sunset).

Once again, nine years later, Before Midnight (2013) returns us to these characters to let us know what has happened with their lives. Jesse never did catch that train and has now built a life with Céline. They have twin daughters and Jesse’s son Hank has just caught a plane back home after spending the summer in Greece with his father and Céline. Living in Paris with his son in the US, Jesse laments that he wishes he could be more present in his son’s life. Céline predicts that this moment will be the start of the end of their relationship when he will start resenting her, which Jesse vehemently denies.

(Ethan Hawke as Jesse, left, and Julie Delpy as Céline in Before Midnight).

Jesse and Céline spend another day together, first with a group of friends (the first time we see them interacting for any extended time with people other than each other), and then as they go to spend the night together in a room that was a gift from their friends. What starts as a pleasant afternoon turns into a bitter fight digging up long dormant resentments and leaving question about the future of these characters.

Ethan Hawke once said that Before Sunrise is about what could be, Before Sunset is about what might be, and Before Midnight is about what is. This seems like a very apt description. In fact, Before Midnight does something that few other films about romantic relationships do: it ends with a note of uncertainty. While other films will show couples fight, they typically end with a make-up where the viewer gets the sense that “everything is and will be all right.” And while Before Midnight does end with the characters slowly making up, there is still a feeling that they’ve opened up wounds that may never fully heal and leaving the viewer wondering if Jesse and Céline will in fact make it.

(Director and co-writer of the Before Trilogy, Richard Linklater).

Linklater gave us a fascinating and understated trilogy with these three films. And, with 2022 marking nine years since Before Midnight, we have to wonder if these characters will be revisited once more.  Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy have all said they wouldn’t return to them unless they felt there was a real story left to be told and that as of now, they feel the story is complete. But it’s hard for viewers to not wonder if Jesse and Céline made it through the storm.

Cobra – Monday, January 27, 2020

[Editorial Note: Guest posts such as this one may occasionally appear on Matt Lynn Digital.]