Before Midnight - another conversation, another town, another wonderful film

I’ve discovered that Before Sunrise can be a bit of a marmite movie… (and possibly Before Sunset too, though I’m guessing those crazy people who don’t like marmite, I mean Before Sunrise, don’t make it that far).  Well I loved both of the Before movies, and so both couldn't wait for Before Midnight and was slightly worried in case it spoiled the memory of the previous two.  Well, despite the best efforts of the people in the row behind me who talked over the last 10 minutes, it didn't let me down.

The best thing about the film is that Celine and Jesse have evolved, are recognisably 40-odd and have been in a relationship with kids for several years, but also they still are most definitely Celine and Jesse.   Naturalism is essential to these films, so there is also a tightrope to walk between filling in something for the audience about what has happened in the intervening years and not going too heavy on the exposition.  The film hints at what has gone before but gets the mix right – similar to the deft way that they handled the did-they/ didn't-they meet up early on in Before Sunset.  What exposition there is also sets up brilliantly how the characters have become who they are now.

Celine is probably the more complicated character, and also possibly would be less immediately likeable to people who haven’t seen the other films.  But Julie Delpy is such a phenomenal actress, she makes Celine’s bluntness, frustrations and fieriness both truthful and sympathetic.  There are scenes where both are in but you just can’t stop watching her because the performance is so excellent.  And Ethan Hawke makes Jesse’s response to her feel real, while giving her performance space and not allowing his character to get lost behind it.

My favourite scenes were the ones that transplanted me back to the previous movies as they wander through the town, conversing and, as they quite freely admit, bullshitting.  The early scenes in the car also have some of that feeling, though with the twins in the back seat, it is very clear that time has very much moved on from Vienna and Paris.  There are also extended scenes featuring the family they are staying with in Greece allowing to have lofty, thinking out loud discussions without you wondering why they haven’t had this conversation before in the previous 10 years.  These group scenes fit in tonally but also expand the film beyond its usual world of a one-to-one conversation.  The only scenes I wasn't quite as sure about were those in the hotel later on, with a static camera and more closed location.  Obviously there have been many indoor scenes in the previous films, but there world suddenly felt smaller and trapped.  This is quite probably deliberate – especially given the content of much of those scenes. It feels like some of the energy has gone from the film, and given that both the characters feel tired.  Maybe that was the right choice to make in terms of shooting style since it evoked that emotion.  It  may well be I just didn't want them to feel that way which is why I resented the change in atmosphere.

Obviously there probably isn't too much in this film for anyone who didn't appreciate the first two, but for anyone did, it seems a fitting end.  Perhaps it is a little less hopeful and overtly romantic than previous films, but realistic, honest and emotionally satisfying.  Whether we see Celine and Jesse walking and talking on to film again I don’t know. But I’m just pleased to have dropped in on them one more time, believable grown-ups but still not certain about life, less optimistic, more thoughtful, but still absolutely those two people who got off a train together nearly 20 years ago.

Upstream Color - a hypnotic nightmare

It’s a couple of hours after I finished watching Upstream Color, and I’m still not quite what I think or feel about it.  My final film at EIFF was probably the most mind-blowing.  A sci-fi, sometimes queasy, horror, that comes off as a mix of drug-induced nightmare and alien abduction (without the aliens) with no easy answers and a great deal to process.

I am 90% certain that I really liked it, and hope I still feel that way in a few days.  It is visually arresting, intelligently acted, mesmerising and brain-spinningly edited.  I don’t think I can even hope to describe the plot although I think I just about followed it.  It just would sound too silly typed out in black and white.

It is certainly a unique vision, starting with what seems like strange but relatively innocent teenage drug experimentation but then switching to the drug-and-hypnosis induced nightmare to end all nightmares.  (As an aside, if like me, parasites and people trying to remove them with large kitchen knives freaks you out, take something to hide your head behind for this section).

Amy Seimetz is terrific playing a woman who has no idea what has happened to her or how to move forward with her life.  It’s an incredible emotional balancing act and the film could easily have fallen completely apart without her brilliantly judged performance.   The choices of locations are strange and disorientating, as is the soundtrack, all coming together to throw the viewer into the air and not provide a safe and comfy landing.

Now with apologies for some terribly vague description -  the film is really evocative of something…  a paranoia, a feeling of not being wholly in control of one’s life, unknown connections, something impossible to quite put your finger on.  It is brilliant at overwhelming the audience with this uncertainty, at pulling the rug from under your feet – not just with the storytelling, but with the editing, the pacing, the camerawork and the score.

I’m really glad I saw it and may be trying to comprehend it for a few days to come.  The fact that I was totally fascinated by what was going on, rather than put off, makes me feel that if I do come to understand it, it will stick with me for a long time.  I think this is going to be one I have to watch again, although who knows how many viewings it will take for things to fall into place.