Before Midnight (2013)

BEFORE MIDNIGHT  (2013)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: Richard Linklater
    Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Walter Lassaly,
    Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Athina Rachel Tsangari,
    Ariane Labed, Yannis Papadopoulos, Panos Koronis
The last time the screen went dark on Jesse and Celine (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) was nine years ago in Paris. Nine years before that, they were talking the night away, walking through Vienna. This time, they're in Greece, and the young lovers of the first two films are a middle-aged couple now, with twin daughters, dealing with issues and baggage their younger selves never had to think about. The conversation continues and it's as sharp and funny as ever, but there's a different edge to it now, a sense of time passing and dreams not entirely realized. They haven't completely grown up, but they've grown older, and they've had enough time together to figure each other out. So they play games. They're evasive. They get on each other's nerves. And they've reached a point where there are compromises to be made, big ones. Life's become complicated. After that rendezvous in Paris nine years ago, I wasn't sure I wanted to see Jesse and Celine again. I wanted to leave them with their dreams and ideals intact. Now, after this one, I'm curious. It's hard to know where they'd be in another nine years, and questionable whether they'd even be together, but if Linklater and his stars want to bring them back to hash things out in some picturesque European location, I'm in. At least one thing's for sure. The conversation will be worth tuning in.