When exploring the romance film genre, there tends to be a specific formula that can tire out easily: two people meet, they begin to fall in love, something gets in the way of that, they overcome the challenge, and then they can be together for good. However, my favourite film trilogy of all time, Richard Linklater’s The Before Trilogy, challenges the traditional structure of a romance film. This trilogy strays from the typical romance movie by using conversation as the driving force of the plot, rather than there being an external force driving the plot of the movie. The trilogy consists of the three movies: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight, each movie set nine years apart. However, for this purpose of this article, I will primarily be analyzing the first movie, Before Sunrise.
The story of Before Sunrise begins when two travellers, Jesse and Celine, are on a train in Europe, where Jesse is heading to Vienna during a layover for his flight back to America, and Celine is taking the train back to Paris. When an older couple begins to argue, Celine moves to sit across from Jesse, where they begin to introduce themselves. The two of them seem to have a strong connection, and Jesse asks Celine to get off the train with him in Vienna to explore until morning, to which Celine agrees. The two proceed to explore Vienna together, however the location and the plot of travelling with a stranger is merely a backdrop to the characters’ conversations as they get to know each other. By the end of the movie, they do not exchange any contact information, but they promise to meet at the Vienna train station again exactly a year later. However, they do not see each other for another nine years, setting up the story for Before Sunset.
“I guess when you are young, you believe that you will meet many people with whom you’ll connect with, but later in life you realize it only happens a few times.” – Celine
What makes this trilogy so special to its fanbase is not only the way that the films highlight the characters’ connection created through authentic conversation, but also the way it depicts the experience of love over time and through ageing. What I especially love is that the characters have identities fully separate from one another. Celine develops a large interest in environmental activism, which Jesse has little knowledge on, and Jesse has his own career as an author that has its advantages and disadvantages for the relationship. The two love interests grow to see the world differently than the other, but still maintain chemistry and connection, despite not having their identities dependent on the other. It is realistic, yet not pessimistic. What I admire most about the structure of the conversations in these movies is the fact that they are similar to how people interact in real life, rather than the typical portrayal of dialogue in movies; people do not speak in perfectly thought out sentences that always get a curious and detailed response. When we talk, our ideas do not always spark coordinated back and forth conversation, rather there are awkward pauses and stark topic changes, and sometimes one person will trail off into a different tangent that is only applicable to the way they think, yet the characters still connect on an emotionally deep level.
“Isn’t everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more?” – Celine
Despite not communicating with distinct polish, the characters have deep and introspective conversations that make the viewer think about the phenomenon that is human connection.
“Baby, you are gonna miss that plane.” – Celine, “I know.” – Jesse
From the connection that forms through conversation, as well as the movies exploring the varying life stages that the characters experience in their relationships, the Before Trilogy is a sure favourite for the sense of reliability that it brings to its viewers through every stage of life. The first movie begins with the characters being 23 years old—typically the age where one is just out of college and discovering themselves—to when they are 32, and then 41. The movies are not just for one specific stage of experiencing love, so the viewer can grow with the characters and not just love them as fictional characters, but love them for their representation of normal people who experience human connection.