“If you want love, then this is it. This is real life. It's not perfect but it's real.”
It’s been over a year since I showed my mom Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, and finally we got the time to watch Before Midnight together. On a rewatch of this film, it’s clear how weak this film is in comparison to the first two films. I’m not saying this film is bad at all, I actually think it’s great. But Before Sunrise and Before Sunset are masterpieces, and are two of the most realistically romantic films I’ve ever seen. If you know me, I love my romance films, and the lack of romance between Jesse and Celine in this final film makes you feel a little sick to your stomach. But that is exactly how they want you to feel.
Before Sunrise is about the honeymoon phase of a relationship, Before Sunset is about a rekindling relationship, and Before Midnight is about marriage. I believe that real love is revealed by how you grow beyond the honeymoon phase. Relationships aren’t perfect, conflict will arise, and it matters how you deal with that as a couple. And in Before Midnight, Jesse and Celine are dealing with a tough decision on what to do with Jesse’s son, who’s stuck in Chicago with his alcoholic mother, while Jesse and Celine are living in Paris with their two daughters. Since Jesse’s ex has custody of him, he believes the only way to be with him is by moving to Chicago. But Celine has just gotten a life changing job opportunity in Paris, and rightfully so, doesn’t want to move.
The film introduces the driving force of the romance between Jesse and Celine, and that is sex. With marriage, there will come a time where neither one is going to be sexually motivated, and if your whole relationship depends on sex, that relationship isn’t going to work. And in this case, it’s clear that’s right. Which is where I have my gripe about this film. Obviously in Before Sunrise, they make love in a park in Vienna, and in Before Sunset, it’s implied they make love in Celine’s apartment in Paris. But the sex isn’t what makes their relationship so romantic. It’s them having emotional, philosophical conversations about life, death, happiness. But now in their 40’s, they feel like they’ve lost that maturity, which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Still, Before Midnight is a beautiful film, but it’s definitely the weakest when compared to its two masterful predecessors.
“If you want love, then this is it. This is real life. It's not perfect but it's real.”
It’s been over a year since I showed my mom Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, and finally we got the time to watch Before Midnight together. On a rewatch of this film, it’s clear how weak this film is in comparison to the first two films. I’m not saying this film is bad at all, I actually think it’s great. But Before Sunrise and Before Sunset are masterpieces, and are two of the most realistically romantic films I’ve ever seen. If you know me, I love my romance films, and the lack of romance between Jesse and Celine in this final film makes you feel a little sick to your stomach. But that is exactly how they want you to feel.
Before Sunrise is about the honeymoon phase of a relationship, Before Sunset is about a rekindling relationship, and Before Midnight is about marriage. I believe that real love is revealed by how you grow beyond the honeymoon phase. Relationships aren’t perfect, conflict will arise, and it matters how you deal with that as a couple. And in Before Midnight, Jesse and Celine are dealing with a tough decision on what to do with Jesse’s son, who’s stuck in Chicago with his alcoholic mother, while Jesse and Celine are living in Paris with their two daughters. Since Jesse’s ex has custody of him, he believes the only way to be with him is by moving to Chicago. But Celine has just gotten a life changing job opportunity in Paris, and rightfully so, doesn’t want to move.
The film introduces the driving force of the romance between Jesse and Celine, and that is sex. With marriage, there will come a time where neither one is going to be sexually motivated, and if your whole relationship depends on sex, that relationship isn’t going to work. And in this case, it’s clear that’s right. Which is where I have my gripe about this film. Obviously in Before Sunrise, they make love in a park in Vienna, and in Before Sunset, it’s implied they make love in Celine’s apartment in Paris. But the sex isn’t what makes their relationship so romantic. It’s them having emotional, philosophical conversations about life, death, happiness. But now in their 40’s, they feel like they’ve lost that maturity, which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Still, Before Midnight is a beautiful film, but it’s definitely the weakest when compared to its two masterful predecessors.
