Age changes your mind
20s i thought sunrise was the best, 30s I thought sunset was the best. I haven't got to 40s yet and I put Midnight as the weaker of the three. Maybe ill change my mind though
shareI’m still struggling with Midnight.
I think it’s excellent and I’m pleased that Linklater and the team were able to surprise me… but a war movie is quite a change of gear! The fight is so brutal and it’s gruelling to see two characters we’ve wanted to see together for decades suddenly tearing chunks out of each other.
The opening with Jessie saying goodbye to his son is heartbreaking, but nothing compared to the horror show which begins when he steps into the car with Celine. They’re dropping cutting remarks, scowling glances and manipulating each other right from the get-go and it only gets worse until they reach the hotel and have the fight to end all fights, it’s a bloodbath.
I completely lost touch with Celine, who has become a cruel, vicious, resentful shrew, and I sort of lost touch with Jessie because he was so unbelievably patient with her. I would have ditched her after hearing 10% of the shit she hurled.
The fight is so savage that I don’t quite buy Celine’s about-face at the end where she decides to give it one more shot and plays along with Jessie’s time machine game. Their sheer hatred for each other runs way too deep to recover from. I think they needed a brush with death or something profound that would make you rethink the path you’ve found yourself on.
The film is almost propaganda against romantic relationships and child-rearing. Then again, you have to wonder if marriage and more traditional gender roles would solve a lot of their issues - they’d be dedicated to a higher purpose instead of an endless tug of war.
Sunrise and Sunset fill me with nourishment and wonder. Midnight fills me with angst and depression. I respect the honesty and integrity of the creators and perhaps I’m naive about long term relationships but it feels like they went… overboard?