Richard Linklater is a filmmaker who’s career has been filled with cinematic experiments, and Before Midnight is one of the most interesting yet- a simple yet excellently-executed story that will be seen in entirely different light by men and women. Men (at least, certain kinds of hetrosexual men, mostly in marriages and long-term relationships) will leave thinking of what an annoying, bossy wife Julie Delpy’s character is, and have their hearts filled with sympathy for the charming and loving writer (Ethan Hawke) husband. Women (similar conditions applying) will feel nothing but hatred for the selfish jerk that is Hawke, and be supporting Delpy in her struggle to make a good life for herself.
Due to this gender-divide, one has to read a review of the film written by someone of their own gender if they are to decide whether of not the film is for them. It’s very, very different from its predecessors in the ‘Before’ trilogy, which were well-written and visually engaging love-stories. Midnight is not so much a love-story as a 110-minute character study, examining how the characters’ relationship has aged since their last screen outing through the eyes of an outsider who is constantly standing in front of them. The film features 7 scenes: Hawke dropping his teenage son at the airport as he heads home to his mother, Hawke and Delpy talking in their car as their daughters (featured very little in the film, never speaking) sleep, Hawke telling friends about his next novel, a dinner party with several characters attending, Hawke and Delpy on a long walk to their hotel, Hawke and Delpy in their hotel room (featuring some ridiculous token-shirtless action from Delpy) and Hawke and Delpy sitting outside a restaurant. These scenes are on average between 15 and 20 minutes each, and the camera rarely cuts or leaves the two leads’ faces. It’s a deeply, deeply engaging film to watch, with largely improvised conversations that feel entirely natural.
Whether or not you like the characters or can relate to the story, there is absolutely no denying that this is an example of great filmmaking. It has issues, but one should see this Before 2014.
BuzzHub 