Review of Before Sunset (2004) by Cameron H — 16 May 2017

One continuous shot is a technical challenge. One continuous time lapse is an artistic challenge. Linklater had hinted at this in the first of the series, Before Sunrise, but in Before Sunset, every minute is even more precious because it is perhaps all the time Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have to spend with each other.

Before Sunrise was not missing much, but imagine if you had only watched the movie when it came out, then, nine years later without warning, a sequel comes out. It would be easy to idealize the happenings of the first movie, just so the second one seemed extra magical.

And what's even more outstanding is how well, in fact much better, Before Sunset stands on its own. That's because the chemistry is not beholden to what happened nine years ago. It's still there, after all this time.

It's more mature, too. They have real responsibilities now, and the consequences of their actions are much higher. With that, they find an easier time to laugh about the circumstances of the world and have more hope, though they certainly were not lacking those skills in their younger selves.

Hawke and Delpy are also more self-aware here. And, perhaps most importantly, the two never once directly propose the idea of getting back together, or even sharing some physically romantic gesture. They only express such feelings through stories, dreams, songs.

There's tension in what is unresolved, but is relieved by the calm in what has been resolved. This dichotomy means Before Sunset ultimately comes out as even better than Before Sunrise. I'm looking forward to the next (and perhaps final?) movie.