The Question of Character

Rating: Null/10 (3 July 2004)

Nine years after Before Sunrise, director Richard Linklater lets us drop in once more on the chance meeting of his two characters, Jesse and Celine. What we know is that they did not rendezvous 6 months later as planned in Vienna. For the next 80 minutes, Jesse and Celine retread the past and analyze their present circumstances.
As with its prequel, Before Sunrise consists almost entirely of non-stop dialogue. But in many ways, the movie trumps its predecessor. Instead of a full day, the film occupies the real time of less than 2 hours. The tension is stronger, as they are constantly reminded that Jesse must reach the airport in time for his flight. The stakes are higher as they try to uncover why they are both possessed by the one night stand almost a decade ago. They are both in relationships (indeed, Jesse is married with a 4 year old son) but can't find the same connection with their significant others that they found with each other. There are near misses of meetings, recollections of longing that begs questions of their own incompetencies... as lovers, as good human beings. Thankfully, Linklater makes the questions (or, that they are brave enough to ask them) more important than the answers. His affection for these characters is enough to yield them privacy; once again he opts not for the soft landing of a determined ending, but an open question.