BEFORE SUNRISE
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1995 Scott Renshaw
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy. Screenplay: Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan. Director: Richard Linklater.
Slacker. Generation X. Twenty-something. There, now that I have dutifully trotted out all the terms that are *supposed* to apply to BEFORE SUNRISE, perhaps we can talk about what it really is. That is increasingly difficult to do with relationship-based films about characters in their 20s, which seem to come with generational baggage by the ton, and even harder to do when the director of the film in question is Richard (SLACKER) Linklater. But leave your pre-conceptions at the door, and you will be rewarded with a nearly perfect romance, a sweet, funny and poignant character study which, if there is any justice, will make Julie Delpy a star.
BEFORE SUNRISE is the story of a chance meeting between two people on a train in Europe. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is an American touring the continent; Celine (Julie Delpy) is a French student returning to the Sorbonne after a summer holiday. The two strike up a conversation which both enjoy, but which seems destined to end when the train reaches Vienna, Jesse's destination. Jesse, however, has another idea: for Celine to join him wandering through the city while he waits for his flight back to America the next morning. Celine agrees, and the next several hours become a whirlwind of discussion about life, death, family and falling in love.
BEFORE SUNRISE is likely to be a very polarizing kind of film, because it consists almost entirely of conversation between Jesse and Celine. There is a certain segment of the viewing public which will be driven to distracion by such a structure, and they should do themselves a favor and avoid it. I could argue with these individuals all day, and not convince them to see what I saw in BEFORE SUNRISE: two complex characters developing as genuine a relationship as you could hope to see on the screen. Linklater and co-screenwriter Kim Krizan allow Jesse and Celine to unfold slowly, so that the characters we think we have figured out early in the film turn out to be something very different by the end. Jesse at first appears to be carefree and confident, but as he lets his guard down he displays a deeply rooted cynicism and insecurity; Celine, whose early discussions focus on death and her very practical parents, becomes someone torn between the romantic she wants to be and the pragmatist she feels obliged to be. Even in isolation, I found getting to know these characters fascinating.
Together, I found them even more remarkable. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy both deliver marvelous performances, developing an affection and connection which always seems absolutely real. Some of their tentative early scenes were so perfect that I had to look away, particularly a hilariously uncomfortable moment in a record store listening booth where they refuse to make eye contact. While both are impressive, it is Delpy who commands the camera's attention; every reaction is on target, and every line seems spontaneous. It is difficult to choose one moment in her performance above the others, but one will linger in my memory: the look of giddy uncertainty on her face when she steps off of the train in Vienna. In that one look, Delpy says as much about what this film is about--the risk of romance--than all the dialogue.
I keep returning to certain terms when thinking about and describing BEFORE SUNRISE--perfect, genuine, real. If that is so, it is because I have seen film after film over the past few years try to pass itself off as a romance without demonstrating the most cursory understanding about the way a real relationship develops. Linklater does so many things right, but I would like to bring attention to things he *doesn't* do. He doesn't wait until the final reel for Jesse and Celine to kiss, accompanied by a full orchestra; he doesn't manufacture pointless conflict; and most astonishingly, he doesn't ever have them say "I love you." BEFORE SUNRISE is about a single night which will become a perfect memory, and I am beginning to believe that is what the film will become for me.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 Rohmers in the night: 10.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews