Celine & Jesse Forever

They first met in 1995. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) approached Celine (Julie Delpy) on a train from Budapest. They talked, they connected, and they parted, promising to meet each other six months later. They met again in 2004, with the hastily arranged meeting never having taken place. Once again they talked, they connected, and they prepared to part, only for the audience to figure out in 2013 that in fact, they didn’t part. Turns out Jesse missed the flight he was supposed to catch from Paris back to America, and they had been together since then.

Sounds like a fairytale romance gone absolutely right despite some hiccups on the way, but Jesse and Celine’s relationship, as we’re about to find out, is far from perfect. Now that he’s divorced, Jesse has a teenage son living in America whohe rarely gets to see, and with Celine they have 7-year-old twin daughters with whom they’ve settled down in Europe.

Opening with a scene where Jesse is dropping off his son at the airport after a fun summer together, we instantly sense trouble brewing as it’s obvious Jesse wants to play a bigger part in his son’s life, a significant portion of which he’s already missed. Celine is at a crossroads as to whether she should accept a new well-paid job in the government.

We join them on the last day of their family holiday in Greece. There are no doubt some beautiful backdrops and scenery, but that’s all secondary to the two characters we want to focus on. Keeping up with the tradition and arguably the Before trilogy’s (for now) most remarkable strength, this is a film in which we see long single takes of characters talking. That’s all they do, they exchange words. And yet, it’s all so endlessly fascinating –it’s sweet, charming, and consistently funny with quotable lines throughout its exceptionally well written script that covers a whole range of ideas and communicate them using its talented cast.

As usual Hawke and Delpy (who also co-wrote the screenplay) are absolutely brilliant – they have that magical chemistry that makes everything look so easy and natural. Coming across as completely spontaneous and effortless is no easy task, and yet the duo who have been at the centre of this romance manage this beautifully. As the cracks begin to show, we are reminded that there is no such thing as the perfect relationship. Life happens, challenges present themselves, there are conflicts, and the longer two people are together, the more apparent this becomes. The courtship between the two is long over – now is the time for compromise and sacrifice. They disagree, they bicker, until eventually there is a full-on fight in the film’s most climatic scene set in a hotel room, easily the best moment in the trilogy. The mounting problems they have faced over the years come to a head, harsh words are exchanged, but the film does well to remember that these characters are not larger-than-life, overly melodramatic individuals. Their arguments aren’t as fiery or loud as say, what Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor get up to in the overlong Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? but are more natural and most importantly, relatable.

Unlike its predecessors there is a fair amount of screen time given to its supporting cast (lovely insightful friends they meet on holiday), making use of differentperspectives and views, although in the end keeping the narrative firmly grounded in the central couple.

Here is a sequel that seems to have been carefully planned out, not rushed through and thrown out on a whim for profit. A lot of consideration has gone into making a follow-up worthy of the high bar set by the previous two instalments. There are no easy answers to the issues that arise, and yet there is something so wonderful about two people who love each other after all these years. Will this be the end of the Before franchise? I certainly hope not. Come on Mr. Linklater, Mr. Hawke and Ms. Delpy, I’m ready for at least three more films– all set nine years apart or so. As I can watch this couple talk for days on end.