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

2. It Knows Its Focus, Characters, and Identity

Don't you hate it when a film has no idea what it is? Movies that forget when they shouldn't be taken seriously and end up with hammy dialogue, unrealistic or off-the-wall character motivations, and a sense of roundabout awkwardness almost destroy everything that came before it that may have made it a good film. It's why Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter works better as a novel rather than a visual investment. Luckily, the Before films know exactly what they are and they never bite off more than they can chew. They never take shortcuts and, better yet, they seem to be films that are completely oblivious to their own direction, which for the sake of the story, is a breath of fresh air for the viewers. So many movies suffer from seemingly dead-end plots mid-movie, so they meander and slouch around until the end credits put us out of our misery (I'm looking at you otherwise-excellent Source Code). It's the nature of the Before films that save them. The fact that it's realism personified and blown-up in front of our faces for the same reasons mentioned in the other numbers in the article. Real people meander. Real people spend time wondering, praying, wishing, and hoping, and these movies recognize it and embellish it as only cinema can. If Midnight stays on the same identity-track as its predecessors, we're truly in for a magical treat once more.

"Sometimes I dream about being a good father and a good husband. And sometimes it feels really close. But then other times it seems silly like it would ruin my whole life. And it's not just a fear of commitment or that I'm incapable of caring or loving because... I can. It's just that, if I'm totally honest with myself I think I'd rather die knowing that I was really good at something. That I had excelled in some way than that I'd just been in a nice, caring relationship."