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

by Cameron Carpenter

1. It's Simply Telling a Story

Is there a greater story than love? Honestly, truly, if you strip away the performances, the direction, the location and everything that helps add to the grandeur of the Before films, you're still left with a beautiful story of two people, not unlike you and I, who make a split decision and spend the rest of their lives ecstatic (or destroyed) that they did so. Is there really a greater example of cinematic love than that of the constant fantasy that "what could have been" "almost was" or even was "was" for just a brief moment in time? It's a character-driven, humanly finite story with infinite possibilities that relinquishes our greatest dreams and fears through two of the most beautiful, authentic characters ever to light up celluloid. Some viewers go to the movies for entertainment. Some go for catharsis. And those things are elements that keep me going to the movies. But I'll tell you this; movies like Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and hopefully Before Midnight are why I'm able to love them.

"I know what you mean about wishing somebody wasn't there, though. It's just usually it's myself that I wish I could get away from. Seriously, think about this. I have never been anywhere that I haven't been. I've never had a kiss when I wasn't one of the kissers. Y'know, I've never, um, gone to the movies, when I wasn't there in the audience. I've never been out bowling, if I wasn't there, y'know, making some stupid joke. I think that's why so many people hate themselves. Seriously, it's just they are sick to death of being around themselves. Let's say that you and I were together all the time, then you'd start to hate a lot of my mannerisms. The way every time we would have people over, uh, I'd be insecure and I'd get a little too drunk. Or the way I'd tell the same stupid pseudo-intellectual story again and again. Y'see, I've heard all those stories. So, of course I'm sick of myself. But being with you...it's made me feel like I'm somebody else."

Contributor
Contributor

Cameron Carpenter is an aspiring screenwriter, current film and journalism student, and self-diagnosed cinephile, which only sounds bad in certain circles. Devoted fan of comics, movies, theater, Jesus Christ, Sidney Lumet, and Peter O'Toole, he sometimes spends too much time on his Scribd and comicbookmovie.com, but doesn't think you're one to judge, devoted reader. You can follow him on Twitter to watch him talk to people you didn't know exist. Oh, and Daredevil is quite the big deal around here (my head).