6 stars for the scenery. While Jesse still has his boyish charm, endearingly played by Ethan Hawke, the Celine character took a nose dive in this one. They made her out to be sulky and angry and somewhat fake. Julia Delpy is very talented but this one is a miss for her. The enigmatic Celine in the first movie is gone, instead now we are presented with a garden-variety resentful, know-it-all, and condescending wife, who would not let up even after repeated attempts by Jesse to calm her down and cheer her up. The Celine embodiment here is all wrong and has lost the magic of her character and their passion from the first one. This is a movie, and it should allow you an escape from mundane life, not to be thrust watching a couple continuously bicker because the wife wouldn't stop nagging with her drama!
Review of Before Midnight
