Intimate Sequel

Rating: 9/10 (21 February 2005)

I didn't see Before Sunrise. I think I should just come out and say that. I have been told that it adds an extra layer to the sequel and I have no doubts. It almost seems unfair for me to judge a movie this intimate without having seen its prequel. But on that note, it is impressive that the second half of this story could move me so. It's nothing more than one long conversation, probably a kin to ones that I have myself everyday. Yet there is something else here. There is something that is entirely relatable here yet still far enough out of our reach that we are sucked into the film because we want to know that magic that exists only in movies.
The story starts with a book signing. Jesse (Ethan Hawke), the author of a novel about a women he met once upon a yesterday and never saw again, is at the final stop of his tour of Europe here in Paris. This is the only part of the movie where he is alone and he sets the stage for what is about to come. He delivers a monologue to the press about a story he wishes to write about a moment that turns into another moment and that morphs into yet another and so on. He is basically describing what is to take place for the next hour. He spys a woman in the corner. He spys Celine (Julie Delpy) in the corner. After he wraps it up, they begin to talk. And they don't stop. Occasionally they travel to a new location be it a café or a park. Topics flow into each other  just as Jesse told us they would.
How do you write a conversation specific to two people yet understandable to anyone? Even after seeing the film I honestly cannot tell you. There is something beyond chemistry between Hawke and Delpy. That has been transformed from life to the page by these two. The co-authored the film. In a time of adaptations from every medium possible, it is hard to pick out original screenplays that stand strong and defend their category. Before Sunset is one of those rare scripts that does. The writing is the strongest part here.
This is essentially Delpy and Hawke's two man show. There is no one else of importance. They are rarely separate, even sharing the shot most of the time. They wrote the film, they star in it and for all anyone can tell, they were the only ones involved. The direction is so minimal that it is virtually non-existent. And there in lies the genius but it's funny how one simplicity can overshadow another.
Before Sunset is emotional provocative in the most subtle way. Were the sun to actually set in the background, you would never notice the difference. The film is shot in real time and so the sunset would sneak up on you the way the film does. One minute there's a sun and then before you know it the sky is pink and you realize you care whether or not they end up together when it seems only minutes ago they were just two people talking about whether or not they had sex nine years ago. ****/*****