Simple romance executed perfectly

Rating: 8/10 (3 October 2010)

Nothing happens in "Before Sunrise." Two strangers, an American and a French woman, meet on a train and spend an evening together in Vienna -- end of story. Few combinations of script, director and talent could pull this off as a good movie, but Richard Linklater and stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy find a way.
Filmmaking has never been this simplistic or difficult. You couldn't devise a film with a more generic premise, which is to say that you couldn't make it any harder on yourself as a filmmaker to make something from seemingly nothing. The characters have to not just be likable, but lovable, the romance has to suck us in and the dialogue has to shoulder the entire workload. Yet that's exactly what "Before Sunrise" does. The ceiling for the film is pretty low, but it presses right up against it.
Maybe the best part about the characters of Jesse and Celine is that they're pretty normal- looking. They're both attractive, but subtly so, which is where Linklater's film and typical Hollywood fare differ. There's a layer of implicit sincerity there that we don't get from most love stories where beautiful people do things we could only fantasize about it on our best days. Jesse and Celine's connection is built on a natural chemistry and everything might conveniently "work," but it feels real and natural.
Hawke and Delpy sell us hard on being normal people. The discussions they're provided in Linklater and Kim Krizan's script helps this along nicely, but the moments they share, whether nervous and tentative, tender or humorous are felt on all levels. What's written is never good enough in a romance, but how the actors convince us of the truth to their words with body language and communicating a multitude of signals both to each other and to the camera. Their romance feels like the romance we not only want to have, but unlike Hollywood, we also feel like we can attain. That's what sets "Sunrise" apart.
Hard to imagine how this film came from the same mind as the man behind "Slackers" and "Dazed and Confused." All good films, but the focus on two characters here makes the difference. The real strength of the script here lies in the creation of complex character backstory without the use of expository writing or flashbacks. By the end of the film, you know exactly the kind of people the two of them are, even though you've only seen it through their interactions with each other.
"Before Sunrise" should definitely be considered the benchmark for romance films. Literally no events occur in this film yet it stays interesting through lively and sincere conversation from two actors that have a knack for realism. Hundreds of films have and will be done better in the romance genre, but the structural bones of "Before Sunrise" are the most immaculate around. Even if a film doesn't put you on edge or do something special, you have to be able to recognize great intangibles and there's no arguing with those of "Sunrise."
~Steven C
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