It has made a number of year-end lists and taken home plenty of awards already, particularly for its screenplay, but it ought to be noted that Before Midnight is the third episode of a kind of indie franchise, one of the most celebrated of all time, in fact. Writers Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have now set an expectation that the relationship between Jesse and Celine, which began back in 1995 with Before Sunrise, will be worth revisiting every 9 years, with the new film following 2004’s Before Sunset.
That these collaborating filmmakers, with Linklater at the helm, can continue to create an entire movie essentially around watching people converse is as incredible a feat as it was 18 years ago. These are artists who know their characters inside and out, and use the reality in which they’re grounded to stage heartwrenchingly authentic scenes that expose a plethora of relational truths.
Another movie that followed this 9-year break method was Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which has divided critics and audiences. I, however, would maintain it is a worthy torchbearer of an original movie that was so strange that few people found it funny the first time around back in 2004. Fast & Furious 6 is another example of an episodic movie hit, with some hailing it as a franchise understanding its strengths and firing on all cylinders at last.
Alas, as much as it is worth rooting for them to succeed, some of this year’s sequels and threequels and septequels were not as fun to sit through.
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