Tonight, I went to see the new Richard Linklater movie “Before Midnight.” This is the third
movie in a trilogy that began with “Before
Sunrise” and then “Before Sunset.” Each movie features the same characters –
Jesse, an American man, and Celine, a French woman.
These characters meet for the first time in their 20s in “Before Sunrise” while each is on
holiday. In that movie, Jesse somehow works up the nerve to strike up a
conversation with Celine on a train. He convinces her to get off with him in
Vienna and explore the city. A romantic night of talking and connecting
follows. However, in the end, these characters go their separate ways.
Jesse eventually becomes a writer and writes a book about
that night. In “Before Sunset,” Jesse
is in Paris on a tour promoting that book. As you might have guessed, Celine
shows up to the reading. At this time, the characters are in their 30s, and
Jesse is unhappily married with a young son living in the U.S. Jesse and Celine reconnect and enjoy another
memorable day together. At the movie’s conclusion, we, the audience, are left
wondering what will happen next for these two.
In “Before Midnight,”
Jesse and Celine are in their 40s. They are now a couple that lives in Paris
with their twin daughters, and they have settled into a domestic routine. The movie takes place during their holiday in
Greece, and much of the movie features the two of them conversing about their
lives. A lot of deep-seated feelings and resentments bubble up to the surface,
and their calm, whimsical discussions quickly become resentful.
It is amidst the fighting, that we truly come to appreciate
the humanity of these two characters. They are not two beautiful people with
perfect lives and carefree existences. On the contrary, they are people who
have deep misgivings about some of their choices, their partners’ behaviors,
and their futures.
In this sense, these characters embody so many people who are
or have been in long-term relationships.
It is not easy to sustain a marriage… especially when one is busy with
work, kids, and life and continually stressed-out. On top of that, we all
change as we grow older. What was once desirable, acceptable, or tolerable no
longer feels the same way. It is in these moments, when one begins to wonder,
was it all worth out? The answer is complicated and most definitely very
personal.
For most of our post-pubescent lives, we long for one thing
– to be accepted and to be with someone else. Who can ever forget the worry of
finding a date to the prom, having a girlfriend, or getting married? Our
society constantly presents marriage and relationships as the norm, the ideal.
Evolutionary theory also tells us that it is in our interest to pair up and
reproduce so that we may leave a genetic legacy.
However, what if marriage and coupledom is not the panacea
for which we had been hoping? What if living in a prolonged state with the same
individual leaves one feeling diminished rather than aggrandized? This is the theme Jesse and Celine tackle on
the night in which “Before Midnight”
takes place. Just like in real life, there are no simple answers or endings to
their tale. The audience, or at least this audience member, is left wondering
what will become of these two and also what should become of us?
Life does not always turn out the way it is supposed to. In
many instances, that is no one’s fault. If anything is to be blamed, it is
time. Time passes quickly, but change is continuous though often imperceptible.
That is, until one steps back and realizes what has become of one’s life, one’s
family, or one’s marriage.
Some - perhaps the ones that we often call wise - are able
to appreciate the good with the bad. Others only see the darkness without the
light. However, before midnight it is
difficult to know which of these perspectives is wrong and which is right...
