Tag Archives: Before Midnight

Richard Linklater’s Brilliant ‘Before’ Trilogy

20 Feb

Many people justifiably went ballistic last fall over the opening shot of Gravity, a 17 minute tour de force by Alfonse Cuaron, Sandra Bullock and company. It’s one humdinger of a shot and will be regarded as one of cinema’s great triumphs for years to come. Gravity’s opening shot, however, has nothing on the dizzying, electrifying long takes rampant in Richard Linklater’s brilliant romantic trilogy Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight.

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Take for example ‘the car scene’ near the start of the third film, Before Midnight. Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse  (Ethan Hawke) drive through the countryside of Greece having a conversation that will resonate throughout the film. This, too, is a very long take, 15 minutes, but without the aid of special effects or 3D to cover any breaks or mistakes or to keep the audience enlivened. There’s no need. What we instead have are two actors and a director working at the peak of their powers creating a single take as breathtaking as anything in Gravity.

Please understand, I don’t mean to disparage Gravity, a mind boggling film that, like Life of Pi before it, will change filmmaking as we know it. But this amazing ‘Before Trilogy’, hailed by A. O. Scott of the NY Times as “the great romantic epic of a generation’, dazzles the heart and mind in a completely different way.

If you have not seen the films, each written by Linklater, Deply and Hawke, an intro: Eighteen years ago came the wonderful and surprising Before Sunrise wherein two strangers, Celine and Jesse, meet on a morning train to Vienna and end up spending 24 hours together. We watch as they walk around Vienna, see the city, have coffee and talk. They also fall very much in love. The movie was famous for its long takes of the two characters simply walking and talking (that’s pretty much the entire movie) and also for taking place in a 24 hour time frame. Before Sunrise ends as the sun comes up, Celine headed to Paris, Jesse to the US. They must decide if or how they will continue their relationship. We see their decision as Celine gets on a train but we are left in the dark as to what then becomes of the two.

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Before Sunrise

Before Sunrise

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The Oscar Nominations

16 Jan

I’ve never done an Oscar post but, hey, this half a film blog, it’s time for a new post and the nominations came out this morning. If you need a primer on who is nominated, click here.

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BEST PICTURE 

If you read my last post, 2013 In Review, you read about my favorite films of the year: her, Inside Llewyn Davis, Prisoners, American Hustle and Before Midnight. I won’t go over my reasons for loving these again. But while it is no surprise Prisoners received little love from the Academy, it’s a damn shame Llewyn Davis also was almost completely overlooked, save a well deserved nomination for Cinematography, which, thankfully Prisoners also received. Prisoners is simply too dark and unsettling for the current Academy to embrace. It’s also regarded as a mystery-thriller. While Prisoners is much deeper than a standard mystery-thriller, this type of movie rarely gets love from the Academy, hence Alfred Hitchcock’s scandalous lack of nominations over the years. Llewyn Davis, though… well, I guess I can’t say it is a huge surprise, given how many people did not like the film. Those of us who love it, though, continue to champion it as one of the best films in many years. I am confident years from now this snub will be looked back on as, well, a polite terms would be short sighted.

BEST DIRECTOR

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I’m thrilled her was nominated for Best Picture. I was worried. It’s so modern and original and deep I figured a lot of the older members might not get it. (This happened when the equally brilliant Inception was completely overlooked.) Spike Jonze thankfully received a well deserved screenplay nomination and has, I think, a very good chance to win. His not being nominated for Best Director, though, is a huge shame, particularly given his slot was taken by Martin Scorcese. The Wolf Of Wall Street isn’t a bad film. It’s extremely enjoyable (I’ve watched it twice and could watch it again) and boasts some terrific performances. As with many Scorcese movies, though, it’s overlong and a bit of a mess. The elegance, humor, beauty and creepiness of her, combined with the fact it has a great deal to say, should have given Jonze the slot.  Alas, my own guild, the Directors Guild Of America, did the same thing to my great irritation. DGA, you at least should know better. Alfonso Cuaron pretty much has a lock on Best Director for Gravity. When he wins, it will be deserved. But David O. Russell could be a surprise win here and that would make me just as happy, even more so to be honest. I love American Hustle and think Russell is the best director working in Hollywood today. Two years in a row all four acting categories have been filled with actors from his movies – Silver Linings Playbook (winning Best Actress) and American Hustle. A year before that, with The Fighter, three actors were nominated and two won. This is very rare and is indicative of the work he is doing.

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My 2013 Review

30 Dec

I’m having a difficult time believing it is ‘that time of year’ again. Time seems to move so fast. 2013 may have zipped by much too quickly but not without encountering great food and film that deserves mention. Behold, my second annual ‘best of’ list, with the usual extras.

FILM

Movies first! 2013 was terrific for cinema. Sure there were a few absolute train wrecks, including one of the worst movies ever, ever, ever made. It’s about a lawyer everyone calls counselor and a drug deal and beheadings and sex with — not on — a car, and long rambling monologues that make you want to shoot yourself in the head. It’s so bad, like Lord V, it is the movie that must not be named.

Still, I’ve been blessed to see many terrific, often wildly original movies. My favorites:

PRISONERS

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Intense, brutal, devastating, demanding. Prisoners is not the feel good movie of the year, which is one the reasons, even though it received excellent reviews, it is being overlooked in many ‘best of’ lists. Don’t make a mistake and miss this methodical, intricate, morally complex mystery. Why is it so good? First there’s the script: rarely have I encountered a script so tightly woven. Each word and every plot point matters, there is nothing extraneous. The script also packs an emotional wallop and works on many levels. It’s a surprising mystery with red herrings galore, a very complex morality tale with no easy answers (it’s up to the audience to draw conclusions regarding the characters and their actions) and it is a piercing character study, with some of the best acting of the year. Hugh Jackman is astounding. The guy is of course insanely talented. I’ve seen him twice on stage singing his heart out, charming everyone in view. I’ve seen him dark and mysterious. But I never suspected he could go to the angry emotional depths of this film. His performance is ferocious and dangerous, keeping the movie on a trigger wire. He’s matched by Jake Gyllenhaal who has the less showy role but whose work is just as deep and profound. Prisoners had me so overwrought on first viewing I almost left the theatre towards the end, my stomach was in such knots over the possible outcomes of the story. When it was over, I left the theatre and went straight to a bar for a shot of whiskey to calm down. That may not be the most enticing recommendation, given we usually go to the movies for fun and frivolity. Trust me. If you have not yet seen it, check it out. Not only do the intricacies of the mystery hold up on repeated viewing, it will resonate deep into your soul.

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

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I didn’t think any movie could match Prisoners as ‘best of the year.’ And then I saw The Coen Brothers latest. Like most Coen Brothers movies, Inside Llewyn Davis is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. The movie focuses on one of the most dislikable characters ever to be seen in a motion picture, at least on paper. Llewyn Davis is a dick. The movie does little to redeem him. Which makes the lead performance of Oscar Issac that much more astounding. Issac somehow keeps us interested and engaged in Llewyn, as do the innumerable gifts of The Coens, two of the best filmmakers ever. Ever. Every scene is perfection. The movie is stunningly shot, the directing spot on. T-Bone Burnett supervised the music, so of course the music is incredible… and I don’t even like folk music! The acting across the board is as good as can be. (Is there anything better in life than John Goodman delivering Coen Bros. dialogue? I think not.) Somehow, even though the main character is an asshole and the plot a bit of a downer, the movie was joy to me. I laughed constantly, happy to watch such impeccable filmmaking. I also loved what the movie had to say about art, the struggle to be an artist and also the struggle to live. Beautifully crafted and surprisingly rich in meaning, this ranks with the Coen Brothers best. 

For an excellent, relatively spoiler free 7 minute video about the making of the film and the music, click here.

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