thoughts on Before Midnight

Jesse and Celine (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy), characters we first met in 1995's Before Sunrise and 2004's Before Sunset, are older now (Jesse mentions that he is forty-one; Celine is maybe a few years younger, based on a couple of comments she makes). Their lives have become more complicated than they were even in Before Sunset, when he was married with a son; now, Jesse and Celine have been together (though not actually married, we learn) for several years, have twin daughters, and seem to still be in love, though she accuses him of resenting the fact that being with her means that he is not in Chicago with his son.

I personally was a little confused, for much of the movie, on why she was so dead-set against even discussing moving there. From my point of view, a father really shouldn't live that far away from his children, and since Jesse also has children with Celine now and we are told that getting full custody of his son (Henry) and moving him to Paris with them isn't going to happen, them moving to Chicago seems like the only viable option. She seems to be afraid, though; several times in the movie, she adopts a "bimbo" persona that she claims is what Jesse secretly wants, and though I don't really see any evidence that that's true, she seems scared of losing herself, of living in his shadow, and that being in a serious relationship and having children will keep her from accomplishing what she really wants to accomplish in life. While it is easier to understand his point of view, and while his character is funnier and generally more likable, her concerns aren't invalid or completely out of left field.

Their discussion about their relationship-- what it is, where it's heading, what they feel for each other, what they want, how they've wronged each other, and whether they've betrayed each other over the years-- is incredibly compelling. The movie, like the others in the series, takes place over the course of less than a day, and largely consists of the two of them talking (though we meet Henry, Jesse and Celine's daughters (Nina and Ella), and the friends they are staying with in Greece). Yet I hesitated to get up and use the restroom during the movie because I didn't want to miss anything, and when it ended, I was disappointed that we didn't get to stay with these characters a bit longer. So far, the movies in this series have come out once every nine years, and I wouldn't be at all opposed to them continuing to come out with the same regularity. I really enjoy them, and don't think there's much else (if anything) like them.

Great movie. Would highly recommend.