So far this week, I’ve attended a screening of The Words, finished reading Perdido Street Station, begun my Brian De Palma education, and done some philosophical and theological research for an upcoming essay I’m writing on one of my favorite 2012 releases. Meanwhile, over in Messina, Greece, Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy polished off Before Midnight after claiming just last week that they were only in the writing phase of the project. How accomplished do I feel now? Regardless, the third installment of the romance between Jesse and Celine is now finished, and First Showing has a statement from the team about their film:
“It’s great to be back together again, this time in beautiful Greece to revisit the lives of Celine and Jesse nine years after Jesse was about to miss his flight.”
A couple of things came to my mind after the sheer shock value of the announcement wore off. In the past few years Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy have all expressed that they would collectively need a good reason to revisit these characters and carry out the final chapter of their story together. Ostensibly, the fact that they even broached the idea of making the film in the first place is encouraging; that they not only moved forward with Before Midnight but also finished it in roughly a week is nothing short of extraordinary (though I’m not convinced that their plan wasn’t to simply wait nine years after Before Sunset to tackle the third film all along).
I’ll be honest. Prior to the trio announcing their intention to make the third movie, I don’t know if I ever really wanted them to go back to Jesse and Celine’s love story. Now that they’ve got the thing all finished, though, I couldn’t be more excited to see how things turn out. What about the rest of you? Are you looking forward to seeing one last chapter in the lives of these two characters?
(Source: First Showing.)
