Romance movies are something of a fantasy. When done right, they can be entertaining, charming, and moving with characters and relationships you can invest in. But whether they’re old classics like Gone With the Wind or It Happened One Night, rom-com date movies like When Harry Met Sally or anything with Julia Roberts, or even modern romantic dramas like Titanic or The Notebook, they’re definitely still fantasies. Even the supposed king of all romances, Romeo & Juliet which isn’t even a good love story, is a very romanticized tragedy. As much as they may be the clichéd go-to genre for comfort after a break-up, it’s a bad idea to look at them as instructional videos for a relationship. It’s a genre that’s produced both great and terrible movies, but by and large lacks a realistic touch.
And it’s for this reason that I’m a big fan of Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy. Well, they’re not really Linklater’s; the films are written by Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, starring Hawke and Delpy, and directed by Linklater. Each film, separated by nine year intervals, looks at the relationship between Jesse (Hawke) and Céline (Delpy) and how it adapts and grows over time. As proven with his master work Boyhood, Linklater loves exploring the passage of time and how people and relationships grow steadily over a period of a number of years. And these films, essentially an indie trilogy, really explore the depths and realities of a modern relationship.
In Before Sunrise (1995) Jesse and Céline meet on a train from Budapest and after talking for a while, decide to get off in Vienna on a whim and just spend the day exploring the city, escaping their lives, and getting to know each other. There are very traditionally romantic elements to the film, such as the couple spontaneously spending a day together in a foreign city after just meeting and subsequently falling in love. But because of the characters’ personalities and their realistic conversation it’s actually believable.The progression of their discussions seem natural, some topics being birthed out of tangents, and occasionally venturing off into hypothetical scenarios. Once in a while they tease each other, are provoked. There’s even a great awkward moment after they get off the train where they very realistically don’t know what to do next. Throughout, they learn about each other, open up, and philosophize about love, people, and the world. And all conveyed through the illusion of real people talking. And for the most part, these same qualities would carry over into the following films.
Before Sunset (2004) picks up nine years later after Jesse and Céline haven’t seen each other since their day in Vienna. During a book tour in Paris promoting a book based on that night, Jesse reunites with Céline and they spend an afternoon together before he has to catch a flight. That’s basically the film; the two of them walking around Paris catching up in real time. They dip into ideas, experiences, and society in general and it’s actually very reminiscent of My Dinner with Andre, only more compelling. Their lives have taken authentic turns and through their conversations we see how they’ve matured as they reflect on the earlier encounter and where they are now. Their initial reunion isn’t huge, it’s subdued. It’s as the film goes on that their feelings are brought up in mature ways.
By the time of Before Midnight (2013), Jesse and Céline have been together for a number of years and are taking their twin daughters on vacation in Greece, but we see what they’ve had to give up for their relationship. Jesse laments not being able to be with his son in America during his teenage years, while Céline is struggling in her career. You feel for both of them, and their relationship is put to the test when these issues and others reach their boiling point. And while after the last two films, it hurts to see, you hang on to their every argument. Because the issues being addressed are true of many long-term couples. While the themes of the previous films revolved around sparking and reigniting a relationship, this one deals a lot with keeping a relationship. In Before Sunset, Céline questioned whether they only work when they’re wandering around European cities, and its sequel makes you question that too. What these latter two films have shown are the consequences of a fantasy romance, and Before Midnight in particular could be the epilogue for so many romantic comedies.
“If you want true love than this is it. This is real life. It’s not perfect but it’s real.” Jesse says this line towards the end of Before Midnight and it rings true for the whole series. It’s not perfect, but for perhaps its imperfections. What matters is it’s real. The realism of these characters, their personalities and interactions sets these films apart. But the “true love” part also matters. Because Jesse and Céline as we check in on them over eighteen years, clearly show they love each other. And because it’s done so realistically it’s kind of hopeful. On the opposite spectrum to those who buy into romance fantasies are cynics who don’t believe such a thing as true love can exist. The Before series provides an optimistic response to that belief, but shows how unexpected and tough it can be. It captures what true love is with an amazing honesty, making this series perhaps the most profound romance in film.
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