The Sundance Review Report rounds up each day’s notable premieres, along with a sampling of their reviews and tweets from Park City, Utah. Here’s a special edition devoted to the reaction to Richard Linklater’s highly anticipated “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset” sequel, “Before Midnight.”
“Before Midnight“
Category: Premieres
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Ariane Labed, Athina Rachel Tsangari
Synopsis: “We meet Celine and Jesse nine years after their last rendezvous. Almost two decades have passed since their first encounter on a train bound for Vienna, and we now find them in their early forties in Greece. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story.”
Reviews:
“Exquisite, melancholy, hilarious and cathartic.”
“With ‘Before Midnight,’ Richard Linklater has completed one of the finest movie trilogies of all time.”
“It’s perfect.”
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter:
“Though this stage is harder to watch, audiences who have aged along with Celine and Jesse will treasure this new episode.”
“Preserves the integrity of the past while boldly breaking new ground for Celine and Jesse.”
“A lived-in love story.”
Tim Grierson, Screen International:
“This very honest and very funny film may lack the exuberant romantic spirit of the first two movies, but for director Richard Linklater and his stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, that’s precisely the point.”
“While ‘Before Midnight’ certainly has its appealing moments of allure and levity, it’s ultimately more ‘This Is 40’-style pain with much more honesty and real bite than Judd Apatow would likely ever go for.”
“Admirers of the first two films will feel pangs of nostalgia and a residual warmth for its charismatic leads, but as an extension to the series it feels forced and unnecessary.”
Tweets:
“‘Before Midnight’ is by far the most relatable of the three films. These are now real people, not a caricature of “true love.” #sundance“
Anne Thompson, Thompson on Hollywood:
“Linklater, Hawke & Delpy hit homerun on male-female conflicts with ‘Before Midnight.’ #Sundance2013“
David Fear, Time Out New York:
“Spoiler: ‘Before Midnight’ is a fucking masterpiece. I am not joking. #BeforeMidnight #Sundance“
“Linklater, Delpy & Hawke find a whole new deeper level in ‘Before Midnight.’ Brilliant in that it steers toward epiphany but never gets there.”
“Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy live up to impossible expectations with ‘Before Midnight.’ J’adore. #sundance“
Click Below to Read More Sundance Reviews and Tweets Of:
“After Tiller”
“Austenland”
“Crystal Fairy”
“Don Jon’s Addiction”
“Escape from Tomorrow”
“Kill Your Darlings”
“May in the Summer”
“The Spectacular Now”
“Touchy Feely”
“Twenty Feet From Stardom”
“Two Mothers”
“Who Is Dayani Cristal?”
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