Retrospective: Before Midnight (Patreon)

Nine years after the events of Before Sunrise, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) reckons with the damage he's done to the son he left in America. The dreamlike, fantastical ending of Before Sunset leads into the slow, ugly wake-up call of Before Midnight. The dream has ended; Jesse and Celine (Julie Delpy) now wake up to a cold reality.

The two master manipulators have much in common — but their goals get in the way. A job offer can make or break a relationship. So can a child in another country. The enchanting ballet of words from the first two movies breaks out into a vicious war, with both sides launching cruel, sickening attacks on each other.

By the end, they've resolved nothing — their problems are the same as before. But Jesse and Celine have come full circle — he's now the husband he predicted in Before Sunrise. She's drawn into his games as ever. The ouroboros continues to swallow itself. The dream — the nightmare — goes on.