The giddy romantic tension that pervades every moment of Before Sunset -- the literally pivotal film of this brilliant ongoing series -- is never going to be topped. But that doesn't mean that Linklater, Delpy, and Hawke cannot produce a deeper, richer, film, one that offers an entirely different set of rewards. And they have done exactly that.
I would strongly urge fans of these movies to re-watch the first two installments, and then see this. They really do inform one another in rather remarkable ways.
TECHNICALLY A SPOILER, BUT IT'S CLEAR THAT IT'S COMING AFTER THE FIRST FEW MINUTES
Probably the most important thing that couples do is *fight*, and this movie includes the best, truest, and most honestly portrayed couples fight you will ever see. Each character alternates between insight and obliviousness, between playing fair and striking low blows, between adroitly defusing the tension and needlessly escalating it, and there's no good guy and no bad guy, just two achingly human, real people that we have grown to know so well and root so strongly for.
SPOILER FOR WHETHER ANOTHER INSTALLMENT IS PROMISED
Unlike the first two, the movie ends with major unresolved issues between Jesse and Celine (the issues underlying the fight). It's thrilling to consider that the filmmakers will soon be plotting out the next nine years of their lives, including the resolution of those issues, and planning how the next screenplay will reveal what happened in casual dialogue, as they face the next key point in their relationship. 2022 cannot come too soon!
I would strongly urge fans of these movies to re-watch the first two installments, and then see this. They really do inform one another in rather remarkable ways.
TECHNICALLY A SPOILER, BUT IT'S CLEAR THAT IT'S COMING AFTER THE FIRST FEW MINUTES
Probably the most important thing that couples do is *fight*, and this movie includes the best, truest, and most honestly portrayed couples fight you will ever see. Each character alternates between insight and obliviousness, between playing fair and striking low blows, between adroitly defusing the tension and needlessly escalating it, and there's no good guy and no bad guy, just two achingly human, real people that we have grown to know so well and root so strongly for.
SPOILER FOR WHETHER ANOTHER INSTALLMENT IS PROMISED
Unlike the first two, the movie ends with major unresolved issues between Jesse and Celine (the issues underlying the fight). It's thrilling to consider that the filmmakers will soon be plotting out the next nine years of their lives, including the resolution of those issues, and planning how the next screenplay will reveal what happened in casual dialogue, as they face the next key point in their relationship. 2022 cannot come too soon!