Movie Review: "Before Midnight"

Thanks to Echo Channels and Reality Multimedia, I was able to catch an advanced screening of "Before Midnight" a few days ago - a movie that is much-awaited by true-blue fans of the series and which sadly isn't showing in the Philippines until the 10th of July.

If you can't wait to find out whether you the movie will be worth it or not, though then read on...

via reelhonestreviews

If you read my blogpost on my excitement for the film, then you should know that "Before Midnight" was slated to be my ultimate "Movie of the Year". I even headed to Greenbelt with a "J" wired ring for Jesse and an Eiffel Tower necklace for Celine. Fangirl to the max!

Well, I am very happy to say that I definitely wasn't disappointed by the film. While I knew from the very first scene that things didn't pan out the way I wanted them to, I still loved that the wit and the real-ness of the characters were still very much intact.

via Spinning Platters

I think the wit is actually what makes the "Before" movies work every single time. Personally, I find myself getting so absorbed in their conversations that I feel like I'm actually a part of it, if even just as a laughing bystander. In fact, I get so absorbed in their conversations that I completely forget the people that I am with when I watch them. Yes, they're that good!

via Reuters

I can't say much more about the movie because I'm afraid I'll spoil it completely if I start. But, despite the sudden changes in the faces and bodies of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in "Before Midnight" (these are two actors who, sadly, didn't age as awesomely as Russell Crowe and the like!), I loved it just as much as I loved the first two.

I didn't get the love-at-first-sight feeling that I got with "Before Sunrise", nor did I get the I-feel-you feeling that I got with "Before Sunset"; but it was still real.

See, the longer I find myself in a relationship with another person, I realize how quickly the love-at-first-sight and the I-feel-you feelings fade. But "Before Midnight" made me realize that we always have a choice to let the fading of those feelings break us apart or to accept that those feelings are gone and still keep on keeping on as a couple.

via Patheos

Also, it has to be said that there was a point where I begged and begged for the credits to show up, so as not to ruin the magic of the movie and so I could get another open ending and hopefully another "Before" movie, but they didn't. :(

This is officially the end of the trilogy, and it is what has officially turned it into my second favorite trilogy after "Star Wars" (yes, it trumped "Toy Story").

So, even if you haven't watched the first two, you are sure to fall in love with the magic that is Jesse and Celine (and Richard Linklater) through "Before Midnight". Give it a go! You won't regret it! 4.5 stars out of 5.