Annoying frat boy hits on French girl. For 12 hours.

Rating: 3/10 (1 March 2006)

Annoying frat boy hits on French girl. For 12 hours. But the worst part is that the French girl goes along with it. For 12 hours. And we are forced to go along with it. For 2 hours. This is the kind of movie that makes you want to smack someone.
Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if there had been some sort of chemistry between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. I mean, after all, even annoying frat boys can fall in love. But no. The two are so incompatibly different that, despite what the script says, none of the flirtations are believable. I imagine the minute the director yelled "cut", Julie would spin around and head straight for her trailer. Ethan would go soak his head. The problem is that the director never yells "cut". Instead we are subjected to watching the awkward, contrived and stiff ramblings of these two people who have nothing in common except for the script.
I saw what the director was trying to do. He was trying to capture the poetry of life through long, continuous shots and mundane dialogue. He was trying to show us how wonderful the simplicity of everyday life can be. But there is nothing artistic or poetic about the shots, the dialogue or the emotion on screen. The whole thing feels like an awkward date you just cant wait to ditch.
"Before Sunrise" is like "When Harry Met Sally", except without the humour, the charm, the witty style, the plot or the music. In essence, there is no reason to watch this movie. If you do watch this movie, make sure you're not sitting near anyone or you might get smacked.
Before sunrise? Heh, I think I'll sleep in.