Before Sunset

The moment we've been waiting for is finally here. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is an author now, who has written a tiny bestseller based on his one-night experience with Céline (Julie Delpy). He's in Vienna now for a tour, and has a flight to catch soon. Guess who does he meet during this tight period of time? Yes, the heroine. And just like that, they hit it off where it stopped 9 years ago!

Before Sunset is one of Richard Linklater's best works, ever! The writing is simply superb from start to finish! It flows so smooth and fast you'd never once look at the clock! Essentially, if you think about it, all they talk here is exposition. But you have to see for yourself how everything rolls out of the actors' mouths to your ears unnoticeably! You'll be addicted to the information stream! You'd want to learn every life change of theirs from then till now! Even the random topics are extremely interesting, with the cop and gun story, Notre Dame tale, living in New York at the same time, Nina Simone mimicry and the reminder to enjoy the process rather than the goal being absolute delights! And needless to say, the lead characters' performances are world class!

If you were to place Before Sunrise and Sunset side-by-side, you'd see the staggering difference in both the principal characters! Not only do they appear older, their thoughts are much mature than before! Remember when Jesse was the cynic and Céline's the romantic? Yeah, it's the complete opposite now, as if they've swapped personalities! Both are in their own separate relationships. While Jesse is in a failed marriage, Céline has gone through too many breakups that she could no longer feel what it's like to be a romantic no more. The longer they drag out not asking to marry each other, the stronger the tension is! To add fuel to the fire, time allocated for this short meeting is running out pretty quick, and Linklater reminds you of that constantly!

The one big question that hangs midair is of course our thirst to know did they actually meet 9 years ago as promised? Yes and no. Confused? That's the way the screenwriters choose to divulge it! The reversal of dialogues and information revelation that make you second-guess is amazing! Waltz dedication, argument about whether they had sex or not and how Céline is all about the specific, little details are among the many fantastic scenes Before Sunset offers, with a beautiful ending that ushers us right into midnight.