The life of a married couple, Jessi and Celin, who have met by accident in the train, going to Vienna, where they fall in love with each other and get married, has been changed completely, when they go to Greece to spend the summer with their friends, where they struggle against saving their marriage after the strong debate they have.
The chemistry is so good it is pratically tactile and their conversations, in the natural way of long-term couples, are free-ranging and show how at times of high emotion, arguments and resentment can resurface suddenly to powerful effect.
'Before Midnight' has all the best qualities of 'Sunrise' and 'Sunset' (a love of conversational dialogue, long takes that value the joy of performance and interaction, gorgeous European locations), yet it is a grander and more complicated achievement.
Hawke and Delpy, who co-wrote the screenplay with Linklater, make this oscillation between badinage and feistiness, cosiness and irritability, look effortless.
Though "Before Midnight" is often uncomfortable to watch, it's never less than mesmerizing - and ultimately, a joy to walk with this prickly but fascinating couple again.
Newsday
June 13, 2013
"Before Midnight" is heartbreaking, but not because of Jesse and Celine. It's the filmmakers' passions that seem to have cooled.
The previous two pictures were preoccupied with romantic ideals, but this is the real love story. So funny and so wise, it's about how happily ever after is harder than it looks.
Critic's Notebook
October 08, 2015
The Greek ruins, once the perfect backdrop for ancient tragedies, now complement the Bergman-esque domestic discord and disillusionment that are about to unfurl.
