A Rarity: An Intelligent Love Story Without a Drop of Sap

Rating: 9/10 (9 February 2010)

Richard Linklater isn't a household name the way other directors are like Stephen Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Woody Allen. Nonetheless, he's directed a number of very intriguing films over the last two decades, though what's rare about him (and perhaps is the reason why his name isn't quite as well known) is that almost no two of his films are alike. Those moviegoers who pay attention (like me) would notice that what connects all his films, from "Slacker" (1991) and "Dazed and Confused" (1993) to "A Scanner Darkly" (2006) and "Waking Life" (2001), is Linklater's knack for character developing by way of believable and profound dialogue. The words of these characters are not only well-written, but the actors playing them almost never sound as though they are actually acting when speaking them.
That's why I was surprised that all of the words spoken by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in "Before Sunrise" were actually written, and not by the two actors themselves. Hawke and Delpy are not playing themselves, either. Hawke is Jesse, an American tourist in his late 20's who is on a trip across Europe to find himself, if you will. On his way to Vienna, Austria, where he plans to take a plane back to the States the next day, he meets Celine (Delpy), a French student around his age who is on her way back to France on the same train. As Jesse is about to get off in Austria, he persuades Celine to accompany him through Vienna, and they get to know each other as they travel the city, and are well aware it will be their only night together, if not their last for a long time.
The chemistry between Hawke and Delpy is incredible, and through very long shots of them talking, you never see them look at cue cards or try any trick to make them remember their lines. I felt as though I was eavesdropping on an actual conversation. Remarkably enough, Linklater and Kim Krizan wrote all their dialogue. There may have been moments of improvisation here and there, but the dialogue evenly flowed throughout the film regardless of the source.
A good 90% of the film involved Hawke and Delpy talking, but by no means was the film boring for many reasons. First of all, the city of Vienna, where the film was shot on location, seemed to serve as a third character the same way Chicago did for "The Blues Brothers" (1980), or Idaho did for "Napoleon Dynamite" (2004). Somehow the places that Jesse and Celine spontaneously walked to were all interesting despite there being no panoramic shots (except at the end, in a unique montage showing the places where the two characters had gone). Regardless of Linklater's intentions of choosing Vienna as the film's location, the city held its own with its particular attributes that differentiated it from anywhere else in the world, let alone Europe.
Second, the main characters were not only likable, but had that undeniable charisma that made their dialogue worth listening to. Each character also revealed enough about their background to keep audiences intrigued, and Linklater was wise not to cut to B-roll footage when these characters were telling their stories. Such a move would have insulted the intelligence of the audience, but other modern directors underestimate the attention spans of their intended audiences unfortunately.
Third, throughout the film until its conclusion, I wondered if these characters would actually meet again, and in what circumstances. Of course, that question is officially answered in the sequel that would be released nine years later, "Before Sunset". Not taking that film into account, you want these characters to meet again, but you also know that they're making the most of time they know is limited. That level of intrigue is enough to sustain any attention span, and makes for one of the most unique romantic movies ever made (even still).