Before Sunset
Metascore
90 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 39 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 39
  3. Negative: 0 out of 39
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  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    100
    This is one of the most wildly romantic movies in ages.
  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    100
    This is a romance with minimal physical contact and sex--and that's part of what makes it work so well as a love story.
  3. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    100
    All told, he's (Linklater) one of today's most versatile American filmmakers, and Before Sunset finds his light shining as brightly as ever.
  4. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    100
    Although it is technically a sequel, Before Sunset stands perfectly well on its own. In fact, the new movie plays better if you haven't seen the original for a while, so its details have grown appropriately fuzzy.
  5. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Megan Lehmann
    100
    Chance encounters and fated love are the stuff of fairy tales, which is what makes the deliriously romantic sequel Before Sunset a small miracle.
  6. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    100
    It's great to see an American filmmaker - and a successful one at that - willing to simply train his cameras on the actors and let them, and their characters, come to life.
  7. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    100
    Magnificent but somewhat frustrating movie.
  8. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    100
    That rose in the desert, a sequel that improves in every way upon its beloved predecessor and a romance that slowly builds a fire from embers thought dead.
  9. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Glenn Kenny
    100
    Yep, this movie is basically a yakfest, but an incredibly fluid and involving one, and if you have any kind of affinity for either of the characters, you’re bound to find the picture a kind of miracle.
  10. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    100
    A vibrant emotional epic.
  11. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    100
    A movie this diminutive can be easily oversold, but we might see it on some year-end best lists. It eats at you, just like renewed love.
  12. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    100
    The new film, which unfolds in real time over the course of 80 minutes, is a deeper, darker, altogether more memorable experience. It doesn't extend the characters so much as fulfill them.
  13. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Karen Karbo
    100
    Hawke is not a brilliant actor, but here he rises to the occasion: Every inch of him registers the weight of this moment.
  14. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    100
    Romantic, real and as generous as it is vulnerable, the art of conversation has rarely been so acute, honest and revealing.
  15. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    100
    Although there isn't a single kiss in this love story, it's intensely erotic -- and more to the point, it's not afraid of eroticsm's juicier and more forthright twin, carnality.
  16. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    100
    What ultimately makes Before Sunset so special (and maybe the most resonant, least self-conscious “great movie romance” of its era) is its deep-rooted honesty -- the way it takes the bitter with the sweet and somehow leaves us feeling elated.
  17. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    100
    Summer sequelitis is upon us, but the season is unlikely to bring anything more remarkable than Richard Linklater's sweet, smart, and deeply romantic Before Sunset.
  18. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    100
    Because Linklater now wears his heart on his sleeve, he has made a film that in its joy, optimism and aesthetic achievement keeps faith with American cinema at its finest.
  19. The New Republic
    Reviewed by: Stanley Kauffmann
    100
    The result is a peculiar small gem, a true Linklater gem. The verity of the film, rather than any novelty or twist, keeps us fixed.
  20. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    100
    One of the most perfect endings of any film that comes to mind.
  21. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    90
    In the spirit of the original, Linklater closes with one of the best endings of its kind since George Romero's "Martin."
  22. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: David Denby
    90
    The movie is an O. Henry-like conceit--the slenderness of the initial premise is part of the charm--but the anecdote becomes almost momentous as it goes on.
  23. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    89
    Although the characters and their backstories are carefully thought out, Delpy and Hawke deliver their dialogue as if spontaneous and unmeditated.
  24. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    The film has the materials for a lifetime project; like the "7-Up" series, this is a conversation that could be returned to every 10 years or so, as Celine and Jesse grow older.
  25. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    88
    The naturalistic dialogue is a masterful bit of writing, credited to Linklater and his "Sunrise" co-writer Kim Krizan, as well as to the two stars.
  26. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    88
    In the midst of summer's cinematic thunder and lightning, this is a rare moment of tranquility.
  27. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    88
    This is a sequel just as intriguing as the original.
  28. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    88
    The ex-lovers' new conversation is stimulating and banal, selfish and broad-minded, affectionate and recriminatory, insightful and obtuse - in short, the kind of dialogue two people might have while pouring out their hearts and poring over their pasts.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.3 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 189 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 87
  3. Negative: 15 out of 87
  1. fearless11
    10
    Astonishing. Not just incredibly well-written and wonderfully engaging - you never feel like it's film because there is always a great sense of reality to it.
    Amazing.    … Full Review »
  2. Kristin
    2
    I find it truly alarming and dismaying that so many critics find this film to be lovely and romantic and intelligent. I found it to be offensive and self important. How can anyone take to heart the intellectual prattling of a man who is willing to walk out on his wife and 4 year old son for a fantasy relationship with a woman he has known for 9 hours.? Its disgusting, spineless and utterly selfish. Ethan Hwake's character needs to hurry home, help his wife with the dishes and take his son to tee ball. Delpy needs to stick with unmarried men and maybe volunteer caring for infants at a maternity ward or something. It seems to me that we should be cheering couples with children on rather than telling stories that romanticize abandoning one's family. Am I the only one who finds this profoundly disturbing?… Full Review »
  3. CJ
    9
    A profoundly satisfying follow up on the original (which you should definitely watch first). Although some of the conversation is just cute, at several points the characters expressed insights that I could relate to. I also think the decision to shoot the film in real-time in around 1.5 hours was very wise. It would have been impossible to capture the original magic of a full night, but this sequel has a different, more focused feel that fits where the characters are. And, I found the ending profoundly satisfying. It creeps up on you. Great!… Full Review »
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