Before Midnight (2013)
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Before Midnight Movie Review
Before Midnight is a 2013 romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater and starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. It’s such a disappointing mess of a movie.
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“Alright? But in the real world, baldy,
on game day when it mattered,
I did talk to you on a train.
I did that, it was the best thing I ever did“
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Like its two predecessors, this one also skips nine years into the future. This time around, the two are married with kids as they spend a summer vacation in Greece. There, a big argument erupts between the two, and I was left baffled at what I was watching. It’s difficult to explain why this movie was such a profound letdown to me, but I will try my best.
So let’s just jump right in, right to the root of the problem, and that is the toxicity of it all. I am all up for realistic portrayals of a failed marriage and a romance that has dwindled with age. That is only truthful, right? Well, yes for any other franchise, but not for this one. First of all, not all relationships are freaking toxic as some remain strong and wonderful throughout their entire span, and I would just love to see at least once such a relationship portrayed on screen.
And second of all, this entire Before trilogy is all about romance. It’s all about that deep connection that these two people share toward one another, and that was almost wholly lost here. Okay, naturally it wouldn’t be as strong all these years later, but still the movie lost that sense of magic and romance to it.
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If I had wanted realism, I would have watched a different movie. This trilogy was never realistic at all. It was always about the magic of two people miraculously falling in love at a very specific time and space, and thus it was hugely cinematic, but something that very rarely happens in films. That treatment, thus, should have been applied to this third chapter in the story as well.
My biggest gripe with the movie, however, is what they did with the characters. Wow, was I at a loss of speech upon witnessing what happened to my beloved personalities. Well, Jessie is not all that bad. He is still Jessie. He is still lighthearted, fun and romantic. That’s why I empathized strongly with him as I found his situation here unbearable to watch.
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Yes, they turned Celine into a monster wife. She is such a major cunt in this movie that it was heartbreaking to see what they’ve done with one wonderful character who was simply so lovable, charming and endearing in the first two movies. This is my main problem with the movie – she is not a cunt because of her life choices or circumstances. Not at all. She is a cunt because she feels like being one, which is why I entirely sided with Jessie on this one. Thus, she never felt realistic as her shift to this very toxic, honestly horrible woman felt implausible for this particular character, to me at least it felt that way.
Before Midnight still looks great which is to be expected from this location-heavy series. Greece was a terrific choice for the movie and the scenery is frequently stunning and so charmingly rustic. The movie also started off strongly with the first act being really sweet and reminding me pleasantly of the first two movies. The ending is also pretty good. But that entire middle section that was entirely occupied with this horrendous, honestly artificial fight was very difficult to watch for me, and not in a good way as again all of her arguments were simply reaching, and utter insanity and bullshit. Had the movie portrayed the two in the same vein, maybe it would have worked, but this way, it became too toxic and one-sided.
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Words can never express what a profound disappointment Before Midnight is to me. We could have gotten a trilogy for the ages in this one, but unfortunately that never happened as this third movie ruined any magic or romance that the previous flicks so clearly possessed. It still looks great with the Greek scenery being lovely. The first act and the ending are also quite sweet. However, that entire middle section that was occupied by that horrendous, never-ending argument between the two was unbearably difficult to watch, and not in a good way. The way the film paints Celine as this horribly toxic woman, the capital CUNT to be honest, is frustrating as it’s so unlike her, and thus it felt very unrealistic in the context of this character and this trilogy. The movie betrays its most important character and it also betrays its purpose. This trilogy was never about realism, but about once in a lifetime, cinematic romance, and we only see glimpses of that long-lost spark in this very hateful, problematically toxic film.
