WE MEET UP WITH CELINE AND JESSE AS THEY ARE DRIVING HOME FROM THE AIRPORT AFTER DROPPING OFF JESSE’S SON HANK. THEIR TWO DAUGHTERS, ELLA AND NINA, ARE ASLEEP IN THE BACKSEAT. THE FIRST OF THE MANY ARGUMENTS BETWEEN THEIR PARENTS FIRST OCCURS OVER AN APPLE, AND THIS IS THE MILDEST AND MOST PETTY ARGUMENT OF ALL. FROM HERE ON OUT, THE ARGUMENTS GET WORSE, AND EVEN TURN MEAN AND UGLY. THIS BICKERING AND YELLING IS AN ENORMOUS CHANGE OF CHARACTER AND COMPLETE DIFFERENCE FROM THE CELINE AND JESSE WE MEET IN BEFORE SUNRISE. I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED THAT AS TIME PASSED AND CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGED THEY WOULD ACT THIS WAY. I THINK THIS MAY ALSO BE TRUE FOR REAL LIFE COUPLES, BEING YOUNG AND IN LOVE ISN’T AS EASY AS BEING AN ADULT WITH KIDS, A TIME CONSUMING AND MENTALLY DRAINING JOB, AND A SPOUSE DEALING WITH THE SAME OBLIGATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS. IN THE 2013 INDEPENDENT.COM ARTICLE TITLED “FROM SUNRISE TO BEFORE MIDNIGHT: JULIE DELPY AND ETHAN HAWKE CONTINUE FILM’S LONGEST LOVE STORY” HAWKE SAYS, “JUMP AHEAD, 10, 20 YEARS, AND YOU’RE MARRIED. ONLY YOUR MARRIAGE DOESN’T HAVE THAT SAME ENERGY IT USED TO HAVE. YOU START TO BLAME YOUR HUSBAND” AND I THINK THIS QUOTE WORKS PERFECTLY WITH MY OBSERVATION. EVEN THE ACTOR HIMSELF UNDERSTANDS THAT THIS HAPPENS IN REAL LIFE AND IT HAPPENED IN BEFORE MIDNIGHT. I had thought these two would have a great life, they seemed like the atypical couple, and that nothing predictable would happen to them because this was a love story. Near the end of the film Celine, yelling at Jesse, says, "You didn't say anything- you didn't have to" which is a typical, textbook example quote of a couple in distress. Hearing that definitely changed my overall position on how I thought about these two characters. I think that along with the idea of an "amazing and interesting relationship gone married, boring, and mad" isn't the only struggle viewers are witnesses to in this film. It's clear that Celine has lost interest in Jesse, whom she once found incredibly interesting, and that's faded and is no more, as well as Jesse feeling a little "bla" and looking for change. The two know each other better than they know the back of their hand, there's no new information, nothing exciting like there was before their kids and husband/wife life (even though they aren't married). Celine and Jesse miss their old selves, the people they were as individuals, and the people they were when they were together as young adults. A part in the film that really gave this idea away to me was when Jesse and Celine were in the hotel room, Jesse says "I used to wake up to that sound of your eyes opening and closing, and that brain of yours going two million miles an hour. I miss it, hearing you think." to which Celine replies, "I miss thinking, too". It might have been evident earlier in the film than at this point, but here is when I thought to myself and wrote in my notes that this transition from young to old is more difficult than they expected and predicted, they aren't the big thinkers they used to be. Some technical changes that I noticed were actually pleasant to see. The change I liked the best was the architectural change from the city buildings we see in Vienna and Paris, to the different architectural styles in Greee, especially in the ruins. I've taken an architecture class where I studied different architectural styles and even created blueprints for houses, so when I see architecture in any way, real life or film, I can appreciate it and the advancements that have been made and the different stylings. ANOTHER remarkable CHANGE AND IMPROVEMENT IS THE CAMERA QUALITY. WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS, AM I RIGHT? I THINK THAT WITH THESE CAMERA-QUALITY ADVANCEMENTS, THE SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD SHOTS IN THIS FILM ARE MORE EMOTIONAL AND GIVE THE FEELING OF WARMTH OR COLDNESS BETWEEN OUR CHARACTERS BETTER THAN IN BEFORE MIDNIGHT'S PREDECESSOR FILMS. I ALSO NOTICED THE HEAVY USE OF MID-BODY SHOTS, RATHER THAN MANY FULL BODY OR CLOSE UP SHOTS. I THINK MID-BODY SHOTS ARE NICE BECAUSE THEY INCLUDE BODY LANGUAGE, ESPECIALLY GESTURES, ALONG WITH FACIAL EXPRESSION, WHICH CLOSE UPS DON'T GET AND FULL BODY SHOTS LOSE THESE DETAILS. I've included a small slideshow with examples of the technical observations I made. "we appear and we disappear. we are so important to some, but, we are just passing through" - Natalia
2 Comments
Paige Smith
5/1/2017 06:28:02 am
I like who you brought up the changes in this film; that was the majority of my passage. I'm glad someone else looked into this perspective just like me.
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Carolina
5/1/2017 07:28:49 am
I really like the fact that you brought up the quote from Before Sunrise and how you fit it in with this film. I think it really brings out a good point that the characters find themselves living in this role!
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