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| This really is a small world after all. |
In 1957, director Leo McCarey created a frame by
frame remake of his 1939 hit romance, Love
Affair, as An Affair to Remember.
In an unusual twist, the film not only became a success with 1950’s audiences,
but went on to become a bona-fide classic that outshone the original. As in fairy
tales, three seems to be a charm in Hollywood, and the plot went on to inspire
indie favorite Before Sunrise in
1995. Eighteen years later, filmgoers have been able to relive their nineties love
affair through Before Sunrise’s commercially
and critically successful follow-up Before
Sunset and now the final chapter in the saga Before Midnight (opening in US theaters May 24, 2013). History has repeated itself with the success of this series that in many
ways serves as another, extended, remake of McCarey’s classic tale of
star-crossed sophisticates. Please note that while An Affair to Remember is an established remake of Love Affair, this review will focus upon
the similarities between the Before… trilogy
and the more well known An Affair to
Remember.
1. THE CHANCE MEETING: While
chance meetings between lovers is a plot device that precedes even Shakespeare,
the meetings between Jesse and Celine and Nick and Terry contain striking parallels.
First, both couples are of differing nationalities, one American and one
European. Also, both couples meet while in transit on a trip in Europe; a train
in Sunrise and a cruise ship in Affair. In both instances, the man
starts the interaction with an awkward conversation that nonetheless charms the
woman, although she is initially reserved and guarded. Furthermore, both
couples fall in love not in a clichéd ‘at first sight scenario’ but instead through
the process of sharing their memories and viewpoints and slowly (maybe not as
slowly in Sunrise) getting to know
one another. Finally, both couples meet while in places and situations outside
of their comfort zones that enable them to reevaluate themselves and gain a
fresh, more honest, perception of the world around them.
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| Gen Xer's play telephone ironcially |
2. MAGIC MOMENTS:
In both films the focus is almost solely on the characters and their
interactions with one another. It is through this isolation that the audience
is able to attain an understanding of and bond with the characters as we
witness their bond develop before our eyes. There are select moments,
however, in which the characters are brought back to the outside world through
interactions with periphery characters. In Before
Sunrise, Jesse and Celine are approached by a fortune teller while sitting
outside a café in Vienna. Celine eagerly listens as the ‘psychic’ tells her of
the great things that will eventually enter her life. Jesse scoffs at the idea
and mocks the psychic, in a rant that Celine describes as “like a little boy
looking for attention”, which provides her with greater insight into his
insecurities. Similarly, Terry sees a different side of Nick when they visit
his grandmother’s villa, and she sees him abandon his suave playboy persona to
take on the role of a humble and loving grandson. At one point in Sunrise, the couple encounters a
street-poet who offers to write them a poem that they can compensate him for in
whatever manner they deem fit. In a moment of unreality in this otherwise
realistic film, the poet sells them a poem that perfectly captures the essence
of their night together and the uncertainty that they will inevitably face the
next morning. In a parallel moment, Nick and Terry’s meeting with his
grandmother serves as a break from the film’s reality as they temporarily find
refuge in the old woman’s serene haven. It is during this scene that the couple
realizes their growing feelings for each other, and the emotional security they find in
their budding relationship.
3. THE PACT:
In both films, the couples are forced apart when their life altering trip ends
and they return to their former lives. Both couples realize the importance of
what they have found with each other, and refuse to let this be the end of
their relationship. Rather than maintain contact, however, they instead opt to
test the fondness of their absent hearts and meet in six months at the point of
their departure. While this may seem like an ideal solution for Terry and Nick,
who first must shed their current dead-end relationships before pursuing a new
one, the decision proves disastrous in both stories. In Sunrise, Jesse and Celine maintain that any contact other than
face-to-face meeting would only result in awkwardness in what they see as the inevitable
“fizzing out” of their relationship. In the film’s sequel, Before Sunset, it is revealed that the plan damaged their
relationship more than any awkwardness could, because Celine was forced to leave
Jesse waiting in Vienna in order to attend her grandmother’s funeral. The
six-month pact proves to be equally distressing to Nick and Terry as, in a
strikingly similar scenario, he is left waiting for Terry after she is struck by
a car on her way to meet him. In both scenarios, the couples’ love for one
another is tested by the uncertainty of time and distance, only to ultimately be
rekindled stronger than ever.
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| For good measure, the one that started it all, Love Affair |
4. ARTISTIC REUNION: After
the suffering that both couple’s endure while they attempt to move on, they are
eventually reunited with a little help from the muse. In Affair, Nick’s relationship with Terry provides him with the
emotional security and inspiration to return to his first love; painting.
During their six-month separation, he finds employment painting houses as a day
job until he finally achieves success as a portrait painter. It comes as no surprise
that his first truly great work is a portrait of Terry wearing his grandmother’s
shawl, which serves as a tribute to the two most important women in his life.
Terry meanwhile, has avoided contacting him after the car accident left her
paralyzed from the waist down. Her only connection to him after the accident is
the painting, which was given to her by Nick’s art dealer after he took pity
upon her. Even when Nick arrives at her apartment with the shawl, she still
refuses to tell him the truth and hides her disability. It is only when Nick
sees the painting in her bedroom that he realizes the truth and they finally reconcile.
In Before Sunset, Jesse and Celine
have had no contact with one another in the nine years since their first
meeting. In order to cope with his empty marriage to another woman, Jesse
writes a novel about his night with Celine that goes on to become a popular
success. The book’s tour takes him to Celine’s home town of Paris, where he
finds her waiting for him at a book signing. For Jesse, the novel serves not
only as a celebration of their past ,but also as a declaration of his continued
love for her in the present, and undying hope of meeting her again. Although
Celine is initially hesitant, she eventually reveals that she still shares his
feelings when she sings him a song she wrote about their night in Vienna and
her desire to somehow recapture it. Through their art, both Jesse and Celine
and Nick and Terry find the courage to overcome their past disappointments and
give a second chance to the affairs that they always remembered.
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