Ethan & Julie Forever
By Claire Howorth in Harpers Bazaar
What began as a one-film stand with 1995's Before Sunrise has become a full-blown indie affair: the 18-year romance of Jesse and Celine. Before Sunset (2004) reunited the lovers; now, Before Midnight picks up at a mid-marital impasse. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy talk to Bazaar about love, on- and off-screen.
ETHAN: Julie definitely knows me better than almost everyone—more than wives I've had! We have a very similar life trajectory: Julie did her first movie when she was 13, and I did my first movie when I was 13. But the truth is, and Julie will back me up on this, when we met, Julie was a lot more intelligent than I was! This has been one of the most rewarding collaborations of my life. I don't think there's one interesting thing that has ever happened to me that I have not shared with her, in the process of writing three movies together. My life felt so different at each one. Together they stand as kind of a document of these moments, of what was happening to both of us, and what was happening to [director and cowriter Richard Linklater] as well. When the three of us are in the room, my memories of the first two movies become so strong and powerful that we fall into the dynamic we've always been in. I liken it to being in a band. That summer in Vienna, shooting Before Sunrise, Julie and I were young and tempestuous and having a lot of drama in our lives. Before Sunset—for the characters, and for us—was kind of a time of real healing for me. I was just becoming a father, and that was a great film. The Before Midnight period is an even richer time, but with that richness comes a lot of complications. When I was younger I had a lot of ideas about what romantic love could do—give my life meaning, make sense out of my past. But when you make romance the church of your choice, you're subject to the movement of your feelings all the time, which can be problematic. I have no idea if we'll make any more of these films, but they are starting to feel like a life project.
JULIE: Humor is a big part of our dynamic. Even though Ethan and I say all these things that are really meaningful to us, we are constantly making fun of each other. It's nonstop. We have to totally open up when we write, even if 99 percent of what we reveal is not in the film. To actually dig and find the subject matter, the lines—even the funny ones—we have to be true to each other, without any bullshit. You have to take every act in real life that you don't show because you want to be tough, to be strong, to be together, and shed all of that. It's more than couples therapy. The films are not just personal, because personal would be writing a journal. But they're relevant to a lot of people, and true, without necessarily being autobiographical. Jesse and Celine are talking about things and people that are different from our own lives, but at the same time Ethan and I are in our 40s, and we are at a stage where a lot of people are. And that's reflected in the films. But love? I have no fucking idea what love is! I feel love for my dad, my son, my boyfriend, my friends. And it's all different. Romantic love is wonderful when it happens. And then it goes away. Then it comes back. Then it transforms itself. In Before Midnight, there's that passive-aggressive moment when you see anger as a positive emotion. Relationships are made of good moments and not-so-good ones. When people fight they go places that can be very true and harsh—places you shouldn't always go, but that's the reality of arguments. Sometimes it's good to go there, you know? Will there be a fourth film? We can't even get our minds to think about that.
