About a year ago I wound up watching the Before trilogy by Richard Linklater and they became instant classics in my eyes. They're the definition of a simple idea executed very well. But while I think all 3 are of equal quality, the last one, Before Midnight, is undoubtedly my favorite. I watched the trilogy again one after the other this weekend and I surprisingly have a lot of thoughts. So let's get into it!

Personally, I love the fact that this movie is an intimate and romantic portrayal of a long term relationship. Most romance films focus on the beginning of a relationship, and the first 2 were exactly that. This was a refreshing departure. I am in a long term relationship of more or less equal length to Jesse and Celine, and I see myself and my partner in them. Not that one of us is more like one character and the other is more like the other, but a mix. I love the fact that this movie highlighted that even the best, most fairytale romances have problems- some big, some small, some short term, some permanent. That they inevitably come with doubts and disappointment. That they're never guaranteed to last forever.

And yet it also highlighted the strengths and how positive being in a long term relationship can be. How honest you can become with someone. How well you can know them. How you can explore and grow through them. How romantic it can still be. The joy of sex with someone you love. The way someone can still genuinely surprise you, even when you feel you know them so well. The communication. The dumb jokes and idiosyncracies. The bond. The living through shared experiences, together. Memories. Helping each other through life's trials. It does this all through tiny snippets of dialogue traversing from one topic and mood to the next. It captures it all.

The dialogue. For a series where the main selling point is dialogue, I thought this movie had the best of the 3. It feels incredibly organic and authentic. Delpy and Hawke have arguably the best chemisty in all 3 movies in this one. I think because it doesn't just rely on the character's positive emotions about each other but the frustrations as well which gives us a really dynamic view of them as a couple and as individuals. I was totally immersed in their world throughout the movie. Very fly on the wall feeling.

The movie also asks questions. What's compatibility? What's compromise? What is love? (baby don't hurt me) What makes a relationship worth holding on to? The movie doesn't make any attempt to answer these questions either. The ending, to me, left me feeling like the only answer is that you simply stay in a relationship because its better than being without them. That you stay in it because you feel its innately valuable, worth fighting for. No one can say where the line is where it's no longer worth it, its something you have to decide year to year, month to month, day to day. To me it tied together the themes of romanticism and cynicism throughout the series beautifully.

Overall, I found the movie kind of affirming. Of long term relationships and life in general. I know some people were disappointed to see Jesse and Celine turned out to be in an imperfect, questionably functional relationship but I loved it. It felt so much more realistic to me than a 'happily ever after' finale.

Anyways. Great film.