BEFORE MIDNIGHT

Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke

SM Cinemas

Naturally, we all wondered if Jesse (Ethan Hawke) stayed on in Celine's apartment (Julie Delpy) and missed his flight in "Before Sunset".   9 years later, Richard Linklater shows us that they did end up together but it isn't quite like in fairy tales where everyone is cheerful and content.  But that's real life, right?

They are married, have twins (daughters) and are vacationing in a gorgeous Greek island. Jesse is still a best selling author while Celine ever the advocate is at a crossroads as she contemplates taking a government job.   Renting a villa with 3 other couples of varying age, their discussions are interesting and insightful as dialogue is wont to be among friends.

Bearing signs of maturity both in their physical appearance as well as in their married life, Jesse and Celine are still the same couple we all grew quite fond of.  They have to deal with what I call grown up problems like trying to get custody of Jesse's son from his previous marriage, big career moves also the prospect of relocating to another country.  

Celine has turned into a nagger by hounding Jesse with thought provoking questions. Some of her 'what if' questions were in my opinion quite difficult to contemplate let alone validate with a concrete answer.  While Jesse is confused about the future of his son, he does his best to accommodate most if not all of Celine's insecurities which suddenly all rise to the surface during their supposedly idyllic summer vacation.

If I ever brought up those types of questions to my hubby of 5 years, I'm sure he would think I went insane and would probably retort with one of his jokes just to shut me up and snap me back into reality.  But that's just how we roll, so to speak.

But Linklater's characters in this trilogy have always been the dialogue driven type of couple.  So while we tend to nod in agreement with some of the points raised, we also just shake our heads at the other for want of a better word 'preposterous' arguments discussed.  

Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke still have the same chemistry as evident in the two previous films.  They look so comfortable together. It seems as if they weren't acting and speaking from a scripted plot but conversing normally.

I reckon it is time we let them be and stop intruding on Jesse and Celine's marriage and their life, in general.   Of course, it goes without saying that if and when Richard Linklater decides to come up with a fourth film, I won't miss it.   But for now, I firmly believe "Before Midnight" nicely wraps up their romance.