Movie Review - Before Sunrise

Before Sunrise (1995)

Starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy

Directed by Richard Linklater

At the request of a long-standing loyal RyMickey's Ramblings reader, I popped in the Before Sunrise dvd the other day.  For months, said reader has been on my case about needing to watch this movie.  It's one of his favorite movies of all time (maybe #2...definitely top 5?) and I simply had to check it out, I was told.  Granted, while I wasn't head over heels in love with it (it's tough to live up to that hype), it's a very good movie, a lovely romance, and has the ability to make anyone get sentimental, mushy, and long for the kind of romantic relationship we're witnessing onscreen.

The story of Before Sunrise is incredibly simple.  Two twenty-somethings, an American named Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and the French Celine (Julie Delpy) meet on a train traveling across Europe.  They get off in Vienna and decide to spend one romantic night together in the city before Jesse has to catch a plane back to America in the morning.

That's it.  Nothing more.  The general plot of the film can be condensed into less than fifty words.  However, what the film lacks in plot (and I don't mean that derogatively) it makes up for in charming dialog and an overall sense of romance.  As Jesse and Celine talk about everything from art to religion to a fear of flying to sex, they get to know each other better than most couples who have been dating for months.  As they talk, they both begin to realize that they're quickly falling in love -- something neither of them expected and something they're both hesitant to admit since this romance can be nothing but a whirlwind because of Jesse's impending departure to the States.

The amazing thing about the movie is how everything seemed so natural.  Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are both great, completely embodying these characters.  There's a simplicity to both their performances and neither grandstands or feels the need to be showy (this same exact statement could apply to the film as a whole itself).

That said, if there's one fault in the film, it's this.  I'm not a fan of college kids attempting to show that they're smarter than they really are by speaking eloquently about poetry or art -- I get that you know one poem or know a lot about one artist to try and act all impressive around the opposite sex, but let's be honest.  You only learn that stuff to try to pull off that you're smarter than you look.  It's just pretentious.  There were moments in Before Sunrise that were like this and I can't stand it when college kids act this way.

Beyond that, however, this is a solid film that has only grown in its appeal in the twenty-four hours since I watched it.  I imagine that with a repeated viewing or two, this one will likely rise up in the rankings.  And I'm looking forward to watching the sequel Before Sunset sometime in the near future.

The RyMickey Rating:  B
(Original Rating:  B+; rating revised 9/3/14 after a repeat viewing)