Before Sunrise and Before Sunset feel like preliminaries leading up to the grand finale. In Before Midnight, we witness a titanic struggle regarding Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine's (Julie Delpy) relationship. Matters culminate in an explosive encounter, reminiscent of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
 
Conflicted about moving to America so he can raise his son, Jesse wants Celine to join him, yet that means the latter will have to give up a dream job.
 
Director/co-writer Richard Linklater successfully moves toward a conclusion that operates independently of the earlier films. Viewers don't need to have seen the 1995 and 2004 offerings. That's because Before Midnight covers enough personal history in the first 45 minutes that new audience members are brought up to speed.
 
Hawke seems so much more at ease, playing a loyal husband. He's not the best father in the world, having abandoned his family at the end of Before Sunset. Yet, he's working out life's situations as a grown-up rather than a playboy.
 
Delpy takes risks by not worrying about gaining or losing the viewer's confidence. The immediacy of her work bypasses any baggage she might hold.
 
Editor Sandra Adair lovingly assembled all three films, yet this time her focus on performance is total, rendering small observations which hold larger truths. I hope people see Before Midnight for its emotional honesty. 

(Released by Sony Pictures Classics and rated “R” by MPAA.)