The challenges facing a third film in the saga of Jesse and Céline another nine years on makes the achievements of Before Sunset seem modest by comparison. The changes in the characters (their voices are hoarser; their faces lined with the effects of age, careers and parenthood) and their lives are far more pronounced than before. As if that wasn’t enough, this is the first film in the trilogy to actually show the couple as a couple, making it about a very different kind of romance than the previous films: commitment. Now with two young daughters, Jesse and Céline are spending their holiday in Greece, staying at the house of Patrick, a prominent author (played by the film’s cinematographer, Walter Lassally) – although the issue of Jesse’s estranged son threatens to tear their relationship apart.
It had to be Greece: this trilogy is intrinsically linked to its Europeanness. A film about people living in New York could never be this relaxed and meandering (something which American characters in the previous films already recognised to humourous effect). Nonetheless, the Mediterranean setting is gorgeous. It is also a logical decision to expand the cast back out again for chapter 3, and the various friends living with Patrick all bring warmth and liveliness to the afternoon’s discussion. Yet this is still Jesse and Céline’s film, and their glorious chemistry is mercifully undiminished. I particularly liked how the film tackled Jesse’s career as an author, both from his own point of view (he offers several high-concept ideas for future novels, many of which sound like hilariously botched Richard Linklater films) but also Céline’s, who never had any say in becoming a character in Jesse’s books. Her frustration at being Jesse’s inspiration is fascinating and brilliantly handled. Since they are a couple now, it makes sense that we see them arguing a lot more. These disputes are ultimately less enjoyable to watch than their usual repartee, for the same reason that participating in an argument is hard to enjoy, but they are nonetheless carried out with fantastic empathy and provide a great showcase for Hawke and Delpy’s marvellous talents.
‘It’s not pretty but it’s real’, Jesse tells Céline in his definition of true love. Before Midnight is not the prettiest film of the trilogy, lacking the whimsy and hope that characterized the previous installments, but it is the realest, taking its characters to new levels of complexity and truth. I may prefer Before Sunset, but I respect Before Midnight as the greater accomplishment. Jesse and Céline have grown up, and their films have grown up with them.
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