"Before Sunrise" - Film Review

Despite how cynical and jaded I may be about relationships, at heart I’m really a hopeless romantic. I want to believe in true love, and I go out of my way to watch rom coms because no matter how bad there’s something incredibly appealing about these romantic dalliances. But where the contrivance of romantic films so often undermines them, After Sunrise succeeds by taking a familiar story of a fleeting affair and turning it into something tremendously bittersweet.

The film manages this by taking the small steps towards the two lovers Jess (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) falling for eachother. At first, they’re merely intrigued by the other person, and in the spur of the moment they decide to get off the train and spend the day with eachother, ditching their original plans. But slowly their infatuation grows and grows, and the film, despite making this all preordained, makes it thoroughly satisfying to find the two become engrossed in their romantic feelings. The best part of this is how the film doesn’t bullshit us; it doesn’t build this up to the moment where they admit their feelings and get together. They’re talking about life, love, whatever comes to mind. They walk around Vienna, watching dancers, getting their palms read, and falling more and more for one another. But these two know they like eachother and they let everything about themselves and their feelings hang out there in the open. 

The film provides this all with a great sense of energy and spontaneity that you can’t help but root for these two. The Kiss, the one that was all but destined to happen, is dealt with fairly early on, and this removes much of the tension. Now they can be much more open with eachother, and their limited time together in turn becomes that much more problematic. They say that it’s for the best if they never see eachother again, never exchange numbers or addresses. But they’re really only fooling themselves.    

Much of this works due to Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy's amazing chemistry and how thoroughly they inhabit these characters. The pair is having an exciting, fun, memorable, occasionally transcendent, time, and thus we are too. 

The film’s pleasure comes in part from how simple this story is, and the little events that take place throughout the day. It feels very true to life. The conversations and incidences that take place come off as if they’re just occurring in that moment. But that simplicity is deceiving has it unravels to demonstrate hidden depths and really sweet and sad things to say about relationships, love, and life. 

After Sunrise is deeply romantic and bittersweet tale, and simultaneously very fun and rather sad.   

Grade: A-