Film trilogies tend to follow this pattern: the first film draws its audience in and leaves them wanting more when the credits roll. The second film corrects the flaws while retaining and building upon the strengths of the first film, resulting in a sequel that outdoes the original and once again draws its audience in and leaves them wishing for more. Sadly, the third film often serves as a reminder that one should always be careful what they wish for.  Yes, like a cinematic Icarus flying too close to the sun, the third chapter in a trilogy is usually fated to collapse under the enormous burden of trying to outdo its predecessors.  Even when making an allowance for film trilogies widely considered excellent as a whole, (e.g. The Godfather trilogy, Robert Rodriguez' El Mariachi trilogy and the GOOD Star Wars trilogy), one would be hard-pressed to argue that the third film is superior or even equal to its forerunners. However, writer-director Richard Linklater magnificently bucks this trend with the third installment in his critically acclaimed "Before" series, Before Midnight.

Audiences first met Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) nearly two decades ago in Before Sunrise (1995), wherein the two 20-something strangers' chance meeting on a train lead to their happy capering through the streets of Vienna and inevitable falling in love before the rising sun, bringing with it the obligations of their respective lives, separated them from each other and the audience for nine, long years.

We briefly caught up with the pair in Before Sunset (2004). Jesse was a successful novelist promoting his latest bestseller - a thinly veiled account of the events of Before Sunrise.  A speaking engagement at a Paris bookstore reunited Celine and the then-unhappily married author, with Jesse ultimately skipping the scheduled evening flight that would have taken him away from Celine yet again.

In Before Midnight, set 18 years after Before Sunrise and nine years after Before Sunset, we find Jesse and Celine on holiday in Crete with their twin daughters and Jesse's teenage son from his ill-fated first marriage.  As in the first two films, the couple is very much in love, but the circumstances of life threaten to separate them. Jesse fears losing his relationship with his son and wants to relocate his family to the United States, while Celine has a promising job offer working for the government in Paris.  With the two love birds now in their early 40s AND parents, the honeymoon is most definitely over and now Jesse and Celine learn that falling in love is easy, but making it sustainable requires tremendous effort.

Before Midnight might be the last chapter in the Before series; we won't know for certain for nine more years, but if this is indeed the last we see of Jesse and Celine, Linklater's brilliant direction and always-engaging writing coupled with Hawke and Delpy's masterful performances ensure Before Midnight is a fitting finale.

Jared Lovrak is a volunteer at The Grand Cinema and an avid cinephile.