Plot: What’s it about?
Fans of the movie “Before Sunrise” were in for a great treat when “Before Sunset” came out. The previous was a little-seen, but very well made movie starring Ethan Hawke (still in his “grunge” mode) and French actress Julie Delpy. It explored the brief relationship between Jessie (Hawke) and Celine (Delpy) as they casually meet on a train and go onto chat the night away while wondering the streets of Vienna. It had a certain charm to it that audiences and critics loved and “Before Sunset” (the unofficial sequel?) has more of it. Lest we not forget that the man behind the camera is Richard Linklater, who hasn’t really produced too many duds. One of his few might be his most mainstream effort, “The Newton Boys” (also starring Hawke, Matthew McConaughey, Vincent D’Onofrio and Skeet Ulrich) which seemed to lack a good storyline and was essentially not entertaining. Linklater made a name for himself with “Slacker”, a 1990 film which really jump started the Independent Film Movement of the 1990’s (Kevin Smith cites it as the reason he became a filmmaker) and the movie that really got him noticed was “Dazed and Confused” starring an undiscovered Ben Affleck, McConaughey and Parker Posey. There’s no real way around it when I say that if “Before Sunrise” was up your alley, so will “Before Sunset”. Both are extremely dialogue-driven and it’s rare that a sequel is considered to be just as good (or better) than the original.
That said, “Before Sunset” takes up 9 years after Jessie and Celine shared their romantic evening together. Jessie (Ethan Hawke) has written a book about the night, but has managed to get on with his life (he’s married with a child). Those familar with the ending of “Before Sunrise” will recall that Jessie and Celine were supposed to meet back up at the Vienna train station six months after their encounter (December 18) and without revealing too much; let’s just say that one made it and one didn’t. Celine spots Jessie at a Paris book store (Paris is Celine’s home), where Jessie is wrapping up a book tour. The two instantly recognize each other, take up right where they left off and start the process of catching up. The title has a bit of foreshadowing in it as Jessie has a plane to catch and must be at the airport by 7:30. He wants to spend as much time as he can talking to Celine and, though several subtle actions, we can tell that the two still mean a lot to each other. The two meander through the streets of Paris on foot, in cafe´s and on a boat finding out what the other has been up to the last decade. Jessie constantly makes sexual references and though the two are more mature, there’s still an innocence of seeing these two together.
The plot can essentially be divulged as “talking, talking, and talking” but as with all good screenplays (Hawke, Delpy and Linklater all wrote the script) it’s the substance that matters. There’s not a lot of action, just layers and layers of feelings that are shown that somehow only these two can show towards each other. Jessie is not happily married and Celine is dating someone supposedly in the same situation. Probably the most satisfying thing about the movie is the ending, it’s open-ended just like the original and they even discuss movies with endings like this (though their many talks). This is the kind of movie that could be made every ten years for the rest of their lives, though I sense that we may not see another incarnation for a while (if ever). When two actors have the obvious chemistry like Delpy and Hawke, the words are merely for our enjoyment. I caught so many subtle looks and glances between the two; I found it hard to tell if it was acting or if these two really have some sort of emotional connection. No matter the case, movies like this don’t come around too often – you might say every nine years – and seizing the opportunity to take these in is very satisfying. While the movie stands on it’s own, it’s almost a pre-requisite to have seen the original (Delpy looks pretty much the same while Hawke seems about 30 pounds lighter with much more chiseled facial features). Truly “Before Sunset” is one of the better movies I’ve seen this year and I couldn’t recommend it more.
Video: How does it look?
“Before Sunset” is shown in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and has been enhanced for 16:9 TV’s. I can’t imagine that the budget for this movie was all that robust and in that sense, it gives the movie a more sincere look and feel. Though the streets of Paris don’t look as stylized as they do on the box art, we still get a sense of the mood created here. Edge enhancement isn’t a problem and though the print used appears to be new, it contained some grain and little artifacts here and there. Once again, I sense that this was done deliberately as something like this shouldn’t scream out “Perfect Transfer”. Viewers shouldn’t be disappointed, even if some scenes appear fairly washed out. In my humble opinion, this looks the best it can.
Audio: How does it sound?
If ever a movie were not made for Dynamic audio, this would be right up there. There’s tons of dialogue which starts from the opening credits to the closing and not much else to offer in terms of surround. The center channel pays for itself with movies like this and I noticed a fairly rich-sounding quality to the spoken word. As mentioned before, surrounds are virtually non-existent (except for maybe the last minute of the movie), but we don’t need them in a film like this. There’s not much else to report, people familiar with “Before Sunrise” will know how “Before Sunset” sounds.
Supplements: What are the extras?
If ever I wanted to hear a director’s commentary, this (and “Before Sunrise”) would be near the top of the list. Sadly, all that’s included is the original theatrical trailer and a standard “Making of ‘Before Sunset'” featurette. The featurette is good, but not unlike anything we’ve seen before. As this movie and its predecessor are virtually featureless, we can only hope there’s enough demand to issue both of these in a “Special Edition” format (and a “Double Feature” would be even better)! Even without a plethora of supplements, this comes highly recommended.
