Since Sports Are Now On - What Are You Watching?

Over the weekend, I watched the "Before" trilogy - Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013). First time viewing for all, I had read countless times about how Before Sunrise was a must-watch, one of the most romantic and beautifully told stories you can see, it's on everyone's "best of" type lists, etc., but I had never really considered watching it. Romance isn't exactly my go-to genre.

Then last week, I was talking to a friend of mine who had just watched Boyhood for the first time and while he didn't love it, it got me thinking about that movie. And then about Richard Linklater as a whole. It's strange, I think I have (or at least, had) this sort of blind spot towards him. If you asked me to name my 10 favorite movies and 10 favorite directors, neither Linklater nor any of his movies would show up. However, having spent the last week thinking about it, and having watched that trilogy over the weekend (Sunrise on Thursday, Sunset on Friday and Midnight on Saturday) and having really thought about it, I think Linklater might be the best "slice of life" type of storyteller that I've seen in the filmmaking medium, and I feel as though his movies resonate with me in very personal ways. Here's why - SPOILERS AHEAD.

1. Dazed and Confused. I was 14 when this came out, a freshman in high school and the character Mitch was something of an analog for all of us at that age. I had an older sister in high school so I was able to befriend the older kids and they really helped shape my high school experience. But this movie just captures that moment in time so effortlessly. Is it the "best movie" I've ever seen? No, but it makes me gloriously happy and I watch it every year at the onset of summer.

I guess I had just never really thought about the movie as more than a great comedy or as a vital piece of Linklater's CV but it really is a microcosm of what he's best at - moments in time.

2. Boyhood. Same thing. Is it the "best movie" I've ever seen? No, but dammit if I didn't truly feel like I grew up with Ellar Coltrane during the course of this movie. Not all of the beats I can directly relate to, but many of them for sure. And whether you enjoyed this movie or not, it's impossible not to respect the ambition of what Linklater accomplished here. Again, there's no standout set piece or anything like that; just characterizations against the backdrop of moments in time. The conversation tells the story and drives the plot, rather than the other way around.

3. Before Trilogy. So I think Sunset is the "best" of the 3 for reasons I'll get into below, but Sunrise stuck to my ribs in a particular way. I fancy myself as a film purist and while masterofallgoons and Jep know more about the art of it than I do, I'm a sucker for the simple things, a good script, committed performances and beautiful camerawork and that's what this entire trilogy is. This is really film in its purist form as it's just two people talking. Basically for 100 minutes, 80 minutes and 110 minutes. That's it. And yet, their characters become so clearly defined, they evolve over the trilogy, they learn, they grow, they regress and in the end, they're excruciatingly real and flawed.

Sunrise in particular really resonated with me. When I was 25, I backpacked around Europe, often aimlessly the way Jesse does here. I considered myself worldly and intelligent (in hindsight, I didn't know shit) and did my best to project that as best as possible, to avoid the "ignorant American" cliche, which is something that Ethan Hawke's Jesse is keenly aware of. I met people that became long-lasting friends, some were women that I had a great time with and one in particular that I really felt a strong connection with, not unlike what happens in Sunrise. But I often went to places with no real agenda, just wanted to soak them in. I'll end up at a museum here, a random show there, a walk down the river, a bite to eat, and amazing personal interludes all along the way.

Heightening the charisma and connection between the two leads in Sunrise is the city of Vienna itself, which is a vibrant character in the film, as is Linklater's obvious literary appreciation - there are Ulysses references EVERYWHERE, the film even takes place on Bloomsday - and their first kiss occurs on the ferris wheel from The Third Man.

While the ending is beautiful and heartbreaking, there's one scene earlier on where the characters are in the listening booth at the record store. They're still learning about each other, listening to a song, there's no dialogue and for 2 minutes or they're just smiling, feeling out the moment, taking turns looking at each other but not trying to get caught doing so, it's excellent in its simplicity, and effortless in its complexity.

And that's what this trilogy is. It's simple yet complex. Just two actors, walking through the streets, their conversations revealing everything about themselves. There's some exposition here and there but mostly it's done through storytelling. Lines in Midnight echo similar lines told in Sunrise, as if Sunrise is predicting what will ultimately happen to our characters in Midnight (which it kinda does). You feel for these characters because everyone has had that "one that got away" type of situation, everyone has fought with a loved one, everyone has questioned what it means to love and how that love changes over the years.

I liked Sunset the best because I'm a sucker for stories told in real time, and the city of Paris is the perfect backdrop for the way the story evolves here. Reunited at last, it's awkward at first between the two, and each character puts up a sort of wall that slowly erodes over the course of the 80 minute runtime, culminating in one of the most satisfying endings that I've perhaps ever seen in a love story told on film.

One other interesting tidbit I found is that you can watch Linklater mature as a filmmaker when you watch all 3. Sunrise is great but you can tell where Linklater has yet to hone his craft as a director. Sunset is a much crisper story and it's the "cleanest" of the 3 movies, in terms of where the characters start, and where they end up. Midnight is a master class in showing when the characters are aligned and when they're at odds and the third act is probably the single best "fight" I've ever seen two characters have. It's not just a straight line where things start out simple and then escalate to a point of no return and that's it. Here, things are fine, then an inciting incident, they fight, things simmer down, a character says something that re-starts the fight, things simmer down again, they drink a glass of wine, and then things go to 11. As that's how people fight in the real world, it feels so lived in and all the more harrowing.

Plus, where Linklater is maturing, I feel myself maturing as a viewer. Not over the course of the past 3 days, but if I saw Sunrise when it came out (when I was 16), there's no way I would have enjoyed it. "Boring, stupid, nothing happens" would have been my thoughts. But now, I'm 41. I've loved, I've lost, I've yearned, I've traveled, I've met people who, even for just one night, felt like great friends and we really understood each other. Maybe it's the fact that we knew our time was finite, we made it count.

Anyway, that was a ramble and I doubt anyone read all the way to the bottom but I needed a place to get my thoughts out. My wife certainly isn't interested in listening to me wax poetic with my amateur thoughts on film analysis and story structure so you guys are it!

EDIT: Slacker, Waking Life (a widely unseen gem) and School of Rock are also great, just didn't fit into the narrative I was going for here.