Before Midnight represents the third film in a series (after Before Sunrise and Before Sunset) that periodically (every nine years)checks in with two lovers played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy. Its kind of a fictionalized version of the 7-up series, and sets out to show the progression of a relationship over time and, in particular, how messy and complicated things can become. Like the previous films, Before Midnight is ambitious, interesting, and contain a lot of truth, but I'm not sure that I really enjoy watching it that much.
The biggest problem with all three, and this one in particular, is that they're almost too literary. The entire film is almost entirely monologues, which I'm sure plays well on the page, but end up just becoming exhausting by the end of the film. Really each conversation ends up feeling like a one act play with lots of grand statements and truths being compressed into a short amount of time. I don't deny that people often have conversations like this, but all at once was a bit much for me. Also the amount of vitriol that was spilled had me wondering how Hawke and Delphy were still together. I get that point of the film was the relationship they built in the previous two entries is what pulls them through the conflict, and I like how everything is still a bit ambiguous at the end, but I still ended up feeling restless as it played out.
That said these are still bold films and I appreciate how they endeavor to portray a real relationship. There are certainly moments that capture real truth in each film, but I do feel like the execution falls short of the ambition.
The biggest problem with all three, and this one in particular, is that they're almost too literary. The entire film is almost entirely monologues, which I'm sure plays well on the page, but end up just becoming exhausting by the end of the film. Really each conversation ends up feeling like a one act play with lots of grand statements and truths being compressed into a short amount of time. I don't deny that people often have conversations like this, but all at once was a bit much for me. Also the amount of vitriol that was spilled had me wondering how Hawke and Delphy were still together. I get that point of the film was the relationship they built in the previous two entries is what pulls them through the conflict, and I like how everything is still a bit ambiguous at the end, but I still ended up feeling restless as it played out.
That said these are still bold films and I appreciate how they endeavor to portray a real relationship. There are certainly moments that capture real truth in each film, but I do feel like the execution falls short of the ambition.
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