Carl's Movie Mini-Review Double Feature: "Before Sunrise," "Before Sunset"

[dafunkk12]

Before Sunrise
Before SunsetOh. My. God. Spectacular. Best collection of random conversations this side of Kevin Smith. Really, the movies are just hours of two people walking around talking with each other, but it is so charming and engaging that you enjoy being along for the ride. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy give incredibly natural

Comments

[dafunkk12]

I think what it was is that Jesse (Hawke) was very much trying to impress Celine (Delpy), having an air of bravado still and never making himself vulnerable. He felt he always needed to be "on" and propellant in an effort to make sure there was never a dull moment. A lot of that character is also probably derived from the youth of the characters, still seeking a place in the world, full of defiant energy. What I believe kept them interested in each other is that they were able to play off of each other's topic of conversation; there was never any confused, blank looks followed by dull silence.

Though the second movie is "more of the same," in regards to watching two people walk and talk, the characters have really grown up and developed into different sorts of people, so it really is interesting to see how much has changed or remains the same in the the nine years that have passed.

After watching the movies, I looked at some reviews, and though it's split pretty evenly, it seems like many people "buy into" the second movie more than the first because the characters are more time-worn with better perspective on life.