best film: Before Sunset is the peak of Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy even if it is not by a wide margin- all three of these films (and one can only hope for at least one more as the three principals are alive and working) are remarkable. The other prime candidates here for this category are Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers and Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours: White.
best performance: Before Sunset. Much of the same here as the above category as the three films in Linklater’s trilogy with Julie Delpy starring opposite Ethan Hawke are the gold, silver and bronze winners. The blow-up argument scene in Before Midnight especially (Delpy excels in this scene) makes this a tough call with Before Sunset– but it is impossible to get past the ending of the 2004 film with Delpy’s guitar playing, her impression of Nina Simone, and that “Baby, you are gonna miss that plane” line.
the finale of Before Sunset with Delpy front and center, makes for one of the strongest endings for a film in 21st century cinema
stylistic innovations/traits: Julie Delpy’s Celine is one of cinema’s great characters and performances (or trio of performances). Most actors, male or female, would love to have one such film and performance, and Delpy gets three. Celine is the reason she is on this list. Delpy worked with some heavy hitter auteurs outside of Linklater, but it is these performances and films she will be remembered for. Delpy exhibits character with incredible depth- one of cinema’s most fully formed, with longings, idiosyncrasies, and desires.
these three films from Linklater, Delpy and Ethan Hawke- come in 1995, 2004 and 2013- (here, Before Midnight) nine years apart
directors worked with: Richard Linklater (3) and this is obviously the key collaboration. Beyond Linklater there is Jean-Luc Godard (1), Leos Carax (1), Krzysztof Kieślowski (1) and Jim Jarmusch (1).
Delpy was discovered by Godard in 1985, but it was not until a decade later in 1995 in the first collaboration with Linklater, Before Sunrise- here) that she got her breakout role and gave her first standout performance
top five performances:
- Before Sunset
- Before Midnight
- Before Sunrise
- Three Colours: White
- Mauvais Sang
archiveable films
| 1985- Detective |
| 1986- Mauvais Sang |
| 1990- Europa, Europa |
| 1994- Three Colours: White |
| 1995- Before Sunrise |
| 2004- Before Sunset |
| 2005- Broken Flowers |
| 2013- Before Midnight |
I believe Julie and her character Celine feature in a 4th linklater film if only for one scene. It’s animated but it looks like it’s shot truly and then converted to animation. Perhaps it doesn’t count.
@Jagman- Good point here- I didn’t count Waking Life because it is animation but yeah- clearly an archiveable film
Yeah i think this is one of those films that blurs the lines. It seems that Linklater actually filmed the actor’s performance and then it was drawn over, frame by frame, not merely a vocal performance.
@Jagman- Yep, makes sense- certainly a little different. Good catch.
Do you agree that her achievement is greater than Ethan Hawke’s?
@M*A*S*H- I’d have them on the same level- but if forced to pick, it would be Delpy