Last night, reviews of Richard Linklater’s new film Before Midnight were published – after the film’s first screening at the Sundance film festival. And suddenly, on reading nine positive reviews and one negative, this third film in the Before Sunrise, Before Sunset series becomes my most anticipated film of the year. And, given this series' release schedule, perhaps my most anticipated film of the decade? If Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reunite for a fourth time, we won’t see Jesse and Celine again until 2022. Below are reproductions of reviews I wrote of the first two films in 2004. In January 2004, I revisited Before Sunrise for the first time since knowing there was a sequel in the works – nine years after Sunrise was first released in 1995. In September 2004, I wrote two reviews of Before Sunset: the first, a single word; the second, a lengthy discussion. Some thoughts on the upcoming Before Midnight at the end. REVIEW: BEFORE SUNRISE (1995), January 2
Playwright, Critic, Screenwriter.