Trilogies aren’t just for megablockbusters anymore. Even more than Iron Man 3 and The Hangover Part III, the part 3 I’m looking forward to the most this summer is Before Midnight, the third installment in the series after Before Sunset nine years ago and Before Sunrise nine years before that. When people complain about the vapid nature of movies series, this is one to point them to as an exception to their perceived rule; following characters through various moments in time can be an immensely fruitful enterprise, and can express things that a one-off film simply can’t express on its own. Episodic storytelling isn’t just for TV programs and miniseries.
The earlier two movies are simply a couple of the most beautiful love stories committed to screens in the history of screens. If Before Sunrise proved anything it was that the excitement of two interesting people conversing over the course of a single evening can be as enthralling as any car chase, and if Before Sunset proved anything it was that the collaborators of this story are capable of showing characters mature just as much as they’re maturing in their own lives. And it’s still just the sweetest, and in a way that feels more true to life than perhaps any romance I’ve seen. It feels too real to be called romance, even. By all accounts, the nine-year wait is worth it on this one.
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