5 Reasons Why Richard Linklater's Before Midnight Could Complete Perfect Trilogy

5. It Has a Complete Vision

What separates the following trilogies... The Lord of the Rings Trilogy The Dark Knight Trilogy The Indiana Jones Trilogy (...what fourth one?) The Back to the Future Trilogy The Godfather Trilogy ...with other trilogies that happen to pop around (and end up becoming franchises)? Often times, it's the complete vision of the filmmakers, who manage to stick together to provide the best continuing story of the characters. They don't abandon their properties and realize the gravity of character development. They don't necessarily have to know the end game to every scenario, complication, or character, but they take everything into consideration when writing new scripts. Linklater wrote the first outing of Before Sunrise with collaborating writer Kim Krizan, and then added Hawke, and Deply to the screenwriting credits in Before Sunset (which helps with their performances, I'm sure), so the major players of the film are already completely invested in their work, both on and off screen. Continuing the tradition with Before Midnight, it seems as if the filmmakers are already taking the right steps to rediscover the magic of the first two films. Since the Before Trilogy is almost completely character driven, dealing with these people as real-life, functioning human beings is the most crucial element to the story-telling process. What's so fantastic about Before Sunset is the subtle emotional connection between the characters as they talk about what they've done in the past, completely evading physical contact of any kind. They've never forgotten each other, but haven't given up on their own lives for the sake of the other, whom they may never have really ever seen again. They work against the tide of the romantic movie cliche, adapting to their lifestyles the way real people would. It would have been simple to come back to their story and have the two meet up again after nine years with both feeling the same way they did before Before Sunrise's credits rolled, but instead, we're offered characters who have gotten married or found new lives and have pushed their romantic one-night-out to the back of their minds. Because of it, the film is allowed to be a complete rediscovery; almost a complete rehash of the first film, but still remains fresh and independently invigorating. That's expert filmmaking.

"Memories are wonderful things if you don't have to deal with the past."