Jack and I enjoyed this story of a long-term couple at the end of their Greek vacation although their squabbling sometimes pushed buttons. Most of you know it's the third part after Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004), in real time: it's supposed to be 18 years after the first one and 9 after the second. Those were good and all are extremely talky. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy star in all three as Jesse and Celine and are co-writers on this and the previous installment (they were Oscar-nominated along with director Richard Linklater for writing Before Sunset). My other favorites of Hawke's include Dead Poets Society (1989), Reality Bites (1994), Great Expectations (1998), Training Day (2001) for which he was Oscar-nominated for Supporting Actor, Fast Food Nation (2006), and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007). I haven't seen that much of Delpy's work (I left out Waking Life (2001) from Hawke's filmography--she was in it, too--because I didn't much care for it) but I did like Broken Flowers (2005) a whole lot. She has also directed five features and Hawke two so far.
There is a great ensemble piece in the middle of this picture, with other couples talking about their relationships, among other things, at a dinner party in a gorgeous Greek villa, with majestic cinematography by Christos Voudouris (he's new to me). The beautiful little blonde girls who play Hawke's and Delpy's twins, Charlotte and Jennifer Prior, are not Delpy's own, as I suspected, and don't have many lines but they sure are cute.
Linklater (last blogged in Bernie) once again helms, even though there's no on-screen reference to Texas (his usual signature) that I recall.
Graham Reynolds provides dreamy music with the addition of a few songs of Greek origin, and the entire soundtrack can be streamed, song by song, from this page--just click the one to the right after each one in aqua is finished.
With a few funny moments, this is very much a drama. Verbal sniping and lots of dialogue may keep some away, but if you can handle that you'll like it. Maybe we'll meet Jesse and Celine again in 2022.
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