Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 39 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 189 Ratings

  • Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
  • Summary: The timeless romantic story of two questing hearts and minds whose powerful bond defies time and place. [Warner Independent Pictures]
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 39
  2. Negative: 0 out of 39
  1. This is one of the most wildly romantic movies in ages.
  2. 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. Reviewed by: Peter Hanson
    80
    The sequel is an uninterrupted 80-minute dialogue between two richly imagined and performed characters.
  4. Reviewed by: Angel Cohn
    60
    This sweet film is a genuine treat, even if there's little plot, no antic mayhem and its 90-minute running time is mostly consumed by nonstop, sometimes pretentious dialogue.

See all 39 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 87
  2. Negative: 15 out of 87
  1. 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.
    Expand
  2. YssysG.
    10
    The ending it's just perfect!
  3. MichaelM.
    7
    I rented this based solely upon the rating on this site. Truly, it was a unique story, though a bit slow off the mark. It came around enough for us to recommend, yes. The gal is compelling, the dialogue quite believable. The story involving a "real-time" visit was very intriguing. The ending certainly left us to wonder. Expand
  4. I am amazed that people have the same response to this film as they do to Before Sunrise. My experience was the polar opposite of the one I had with the first film in this series. The dialogue in Before Sunrise was fresh, romantic, and funny. The characters were endearing, I cared what happened to them and I wanted them to be together. In Before Sunset the characters have become jaded. They have white people problems. Life just is not turning out how they had hoped. They have good jobs, and people who love them but it is not enough. They want the romance back in their life, for things to be new again. Where in the first film it felt like they respected each others opinion, they were free to disagree without judgement. Here it feels as though they are preaching at each other. I'm right because my experiences dictate that I'm right. Your opinions are less valuable then mine because you don't have the same worldly experiences as me. These are certainly not unusually drawn characters for 30 somethings with similar cultural backgrounds, and are probably accurate more times than not. However spending an hour and a half with no one but these two people was not the pleasure it was the first time around, and at times was insufferable.

    My respect for Hawke's character lessens even further in the third act when he begins to talk about his marriage. This is not a spoiler as we are to notice his ring right away and frequently throughout the first half. It is obvious he values little of the institution he has entered into, and instead has taken the typical modern approach to his vows. Perhaps and likely all of my issues with the film are Linklater's point. Perhaps these are typical views for people their age. my problem is I spent the first film with unique people. Characters who were looking at the world differently, with compassion and understanding. I couldn't wait to spend time with those people again. Those people are gone.
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See all 87 User Reviews

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