Before Sunset

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

This is one of the most wildly romantic movies in ages.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

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.

Premiere Glenn Kenny

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.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

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.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

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.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

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.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

All told, he's (Linklater) one of today's most versatile American filmmakers, and Before Sunset finds his light shining as brightly as ever.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

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.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Romantic, real and as generous as it is vulnerable, the art of conversation has rarely been so acute, honest and revealing.

Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis

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.

USA Today Mike Clark

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.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

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.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Magnificent but somewhat frustrating movie.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

Chance encounters and fated love are the stuff of fairy tales, which is what makes the deliriously romantic sequel Before Sunset a small miracle.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

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.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

One of the most perfect endings of any film that comes to mind.

Portland Oregonian Karen Karbo

Hawke is not a brilliant actor, but here he rises to the occasion: Every inch of him registers the weight of this moment.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

A vibrant emotional epic.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

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.

The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann

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.

The New Yorker David Denby

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.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

In the spirit of the original, Linklater closes with one of the best endings of its kind since George Romero's "Martin."

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Although the characters and their backstories are carefully thought out, Delpy and Hawke deliver their dialogue as if spontaneous and unmeditated.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

This is a sequel just as intriguing as the original.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

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.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

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.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

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.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

In the midst of summer's cinematic thunder and lightning, this is a rare moment of tranquility.

Film Threat Peter Hanson

The sequel is an uninterrupted 80-minute dialogue between two richly imagined and performed characters.

Variety Eddie Cockrell

A savvy sequel that should speak to anyone who's let that one great love slip away.

Slate David Edelstein

The bad news is that Before Sunset is not as delirious an experience as its predecessor. The good news is that it's wonderful anyway, and in ways that tell us something about our romance with "Before Sunrise."

The New York Times Dana Stevens

The script of Before Sunset is both rambling and self-conscious, and at times it has the self-important sound of clever writing. But though it is sometimes maddening, the movie's prodigious verbiage is also enthralling.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Anything that inspires that many whoops, gasps and groans with only two actors and a few choice words has earned its place at the summertime box office trough.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

There is something uniquely unforgettable in the way Linklater, Hawke and Delpy (equal collaborators on the script) find nuance, art and eroticism in words, spoken and unspoken. The actors shine.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

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.

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

Meandering but reasonably charming.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

It's "My Dinner With Andre" for the relationship generation.

Empire Liz Beardsworth

An intelligent, engagingly honest study of love lost and, just maybe, regained.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

All foreplay and no climax.