Before Midnight is a 2013 romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater. He co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. It is the third and final movie in the Before trilogy, following Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004). The film shows Jesse (played by Hawke) and Céline (played by Delpy), who are now a couple, spending a summer vacation in Greece with their children.
Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy started working on a third movie in 2011. They wanted to match the nine-year gap between the first two films. Principal photography began in August 2012 and took place on the Peloponnese coast in southern Greece, including a home once owned by author Patrick Leigh Fermor. Like the earlier films, Before Midnight has a simple story, with much of the movie focusing on long conversations between the characters.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2013. It had a limited release in the United States on May 24, 2013, and a wider release on June 14. It earned $23 million worldwide, making it the most successful film in the trilogy. Critics praised the movie for its themes of love and aging, its screenplay, Linklater’s direction, and the acting. The film received many awards and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for Julie Delpy.
Plot
Nine years after coming back together in Paris, Jesse and Céline are now in a relationship and have twin daughters. Jesse thinks about how he has struggled to stay connected with his son, Hank, who is now a teenager. After spending time with the family on a vacation in the Greek Peloponnese peninsula, Hank returns to Chicago, where he lives with his mother, Jesse’s ex-wife.
Jesse is a well-known novelist. However, Céline is facing a difficult decision about her job. Her organization’s plan to build a wind farm was canceled at the last moment, and she is now considering a position with the French government, even though she does not like working for that person. As they drive, the couple talks about how they have been poor parents. They did not stop to visit a ruin one of the girls wanted to see, and Jesse secretly finished eating an apple while Céline was sleeping. He also expresses sadness about missing important moments with Hank, and Céline shares that Hank told her about his first kiss during the vacation. Céline says the disagreement about Hank is the start of bigger problems, but Jesse strongly disagrees.
Later, they talk about love and life over dinner with friends who had invited them. Much of their conversation focuses on how men and women often see things differently. As their friends pay for a hotel room, Jesse and Céline walk together and reflect on how their views have changed since they were young. They also think about how they first met and wonder if they would have become a couple if they were the same people now. Jesse tells Céline that his father called to ask him to join his family in Texas because his grandmother, who was almost 100 years old, recently passed away. His grandfather’s ashes, which were buried a year ago, will be combined with his grandmother’s, as they had been together for over seventy years. The two then discuss whether they could stay together for that long.
When they arrive at the hotel, a receptionist asks them to sign copies of Jesse’s first two books. As they begin to be close again, a phone call from Hank interrupts them. Hank seems to have connected more with Céline than with Jesse. Céline says his mother has taken her anger toward them and directed it at Hank. They argue strongly, sharing fears about their relationship. Jesse suggests moving to Chicago so he can be closer to Hank, but Céline disagrees unless they can share custody, which she believes would hurt her chances of having a career outside of being a mother. During the argument, they accuse each other of having romantic relationships with others. Céline leaves the room twice and returns, but finally tells Jesse she no longer loves him.
Céline leaves their room for the third time and sits alone in the hotel’s outdoor restaurant. Jesse joins her and pretends to be a time traveler, as he did during their first meeting, giving her a letter from her 82-year-old self. The letter describes this night as one of the best in their lives. At first, Céline is not interested, but she says their dreams will never match the real world. Jesse replies that while their love may not be perfect, it is real. After a moment, Céline joins his pretend role, and they make up.
Production
Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy talked about making a sequel to Before Sunset. In November 2011, Hawke said he, Delpy, and Linklater were planning the sequel. In June 2012, Hawke said the sequel would be filmed that summer. Shortly after, Delpy said filming would not happen that year. By August 2012, news reports from Messenia, Greece, said the film was being made there. The sequel, Before Midnight, was finished on September 5, 2012. Linklater said the film was written and rehearsed for ten weeks and made in 15 days for less than $3 million. He said the film would premiere at a festival in early 2013.
Release
Before Midnight had its first showing on January 20, 2013, at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. It was also shown at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it was not part of any competition.
The film became available to the public on May 24, 2013, in five theaters located in New York, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas. It was released in 897 theaters across the United States on June 14, 2013.
The film earned $8,110,621 in the United States and $15,141,309 in other countries, totaling $23,251,930 worldwide.
Like the earlier film in the trilogy, Before Midnight received praise from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 98% of critics approved of the film, based on 202 reviews, with an average score of 8.7 out of 10. The site’s summary stated that the film continues the thoughtful, well-made story of love, marriage, and long-term relationships started in the first two films. Metacritic gave the film a score of 94 out of 100, based on 41 critics, which means it was widely praised. The film was ranked as the third-best movie of 2013, after 12 Years a Slave and Gravity. It was also named the second-best reviewed film of 2013 by Rotten Tomatoes, following Gravity.
Philip Kemp of Total Film said the film, like its earlier parts, focuses on people talking. He noted that the conversations are so engaging, honest, and witty that they are enjoyable. He called it a strong and satisfying addition to one of cinema’s greatest love stories.
Perry Seibert of AllMovie praised the film’s writing, describing the long, thoughtful conversations as seeming natural but carefully planned. Eric Kohn of Indiewire called Before Midnight one of the best films of 2013 and said it completed one of the greatest movie trilogies ever made. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian described the film as both personal and thoughtful.
Accolades
Linklater, Delpy, and Hawke received the AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Screenwriter, the Hollywood Screenwriter Award, and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay. The film was recognized with three Women Film Critics Circle Awards and was nominated for the Bodil Award for Best English Language Film, the Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Feature, the Robert Award for Best English Language Film, and the Silver Condor Award for Best Foreign Film. The screenplay also received nominations at the Academy Awards, the Critics' Choice Awards, the Film Independent Spirit Awards, and the Writers Guild of America Awards. Delpy was also nominated for the Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Woman Screenwriter and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
According to Metacritic, the film was listed on the top 10 lists of 2013 by several critics. The A.V. Club film critics named "The fight" scene as the Scene of the Year.