Quick Review: Before Sunset (2004)

BEFORE SUNSET

BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
JUNE 29, 2013

“Before Sunset” is an impressive feat of romantic film-making. For starters, the entire film consists mainly of a limited number of long takes, as Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy’s characters reunite after a nine-year separation. Their conversations, co-written by each of them, naturally flow as they walk the streets of Paris, sit in a cafe smoking, and float along the river on a boat. They pick-up like no time has passed at all, discussing the events they’ve missed in each other’s lives over the years. A vast topic for conversation is the fate of their plans to meet up again, at the end of “Before Sunrise,” with the “what-ifs” and “how different would our lives be?” subject matters.

Hawke and Delpy embody these characters to complete realism, which helped immensely by the simplistic nature of the plot and execution. The audience is emotionally connected to these characters, just as they are emotionally connected. They are exciting people, and we are eavesdropping on their time together as they partake in the waltz that is human nature and connection. As the end of their time together draws near, we pine to spend more time with these characters, and we get an ambiguous ending that leaves us wondering what will become of them.

RELEASE DATE
July 2, 2004

DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater

WRITTEN BY
Richard Linklater
Ethan Hawke
Julie Delpy
Kim Krizan (story)

BASED ON
Characters
by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan

STUDIO
Warner Independent Pictures

R
(for language and sexual references)

DRAMA
ROMANCE
80 minutes