Before Sunrise

Composite Score: 84.43

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Andrea Eckert, Hanno Pöschl, Karl Bruckschwaiger, Tex Rubinowitz, Erni Mangold, and Dominik Castell

Director: Richard Linklater

Writers: Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan

Genres: Drama, Romance

MPAA Rating: R for some strong language

Box Office: $5.99 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Before Sunrise is the first film in Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy, following the romantic relationship between Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), two strangers who meet on a train across Europe and strike up a romance. This first film lays out their initial meeting – the train – and their subsequent impromptu night spent together wandering the streets and locales of Vienna before Jesse flies back to the U.S. and Celine continues on to school in Paris. The night of conversation and romance has become a cult classic among romantic dramas, focusing so much on its characters’ interactions and the many tropes of first dates and strangers-to-lovers in a way that is unavoidably enjoyable. The instant chemistry combined with the beautifully lonely setting of the streets of Vienna and the creative dialogue from Linklater and his cowriter Kim Krizan gives the whole film a feeling of uniqueness that is rarely felt in its genre, setting up the trilogy of films excellently.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                Before Sunrise is not your typical romance film, focusing very little on its situations or even its characters but instead emphasizing their conversation and the intimacy that is created when we talk openly together. In a lot of ways, the film feels like it doesn’t want to be about anything, satisfied to let its characters walk and talk where and how they will and just see where it all leads. Fans of more standard plot points and romantic tropes – like best friends and complications and other suitors – might find the film to be difficult to engage with or find purchase in. It is a film that lives in its present, as its two characters must also do, and that can be frustrating when you are used to knowing exactly how it all ends up and where it all leads. This film doesn’t offer audiences that type of satisfaction, but it does offer engaging dialogue and a romance worth rooting for even if you aren’t exactly sure where it’s all going.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                Before Sunrise is a lesson in grounded romantic filmmaking, drawing the audience in (and the characters together) through some authentic (if occasionally forced) conversation that sets the stage for undeniable chemistry and sexual tension between the leads. It forges its own path, staging a meet cute as the result of a marital spat to kick things off. The whole film goes from there with a sense of self-awareness, both in the dialogue and characters as they and the audience begin to realize the tragic inevitability of the two characters passing each other like ships in the night. Through some baffling and well-shot moments, the audience comes to root for Jesse and Celine as individuals and as a couple, even knowing almost certainly that this fling (whatever it may be) can’t possibly end well. It’s a testament to Linklater’s and Krizan’s writing that a night of walking and talking could hold your attention and get you to invest in a romantic on-screen relationship so deeply, but it works. The chemistry of the two leads is palpable and certainly helps get the audience invested. I found myself giggling delightedly as what felt early on like forced conversation and awkward tension turned to genuine flirtation and infatuation. It’s like the palm reader told Celine, “You need to resign yourself to the awkwardness of life.” Once that switch happens, you can’t help but root for them.

                Through the chemistry and delivery of Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke and the brilliant writing of Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan, Before Sunrise sets itself apart in the world of romantic dramas, elevated to a place of greatness that only improves with its sequels. Its meandering start and dialogue-focused story can be hard to jump into, but once you do, it’s a fantastic piece of film. It is currently available to rent via most streaming services if you’d like to watch it soon.