From ‘Before Sunrise’ to ‘Hit Man’, 5 best Richard Linklater movies you can’t miss this holiday season
With a career spanning over thirty-five years, Richard Linklater is one of the most influential filmmakers in the trade right now. The Sundance Film Festival breakout director, who once captured the best of suburban youth subculture in films like 'Slacker' and 'Dazed & Confused', Linklater eventually came to establish himself as a master of his craft with the immensely popular 'Before' trilogy. Here we take a look at the top five films directed by Linklater.
1) Before Sunrise (1995)
Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy star as Jesse and Céline in his immortal tale of fleeting love. As the two characters discover the joy of falling in love while walking and talking through Vienna, Linklater enticingly traps us in an ultimate guessing game of will they, won't they. Although the plot of the film might seem to be deceptively simple, it is really the silences and the shared glances among the protagonists that speak to the depth of emotion portrayed on screen.
2) Before Sunset (2004)
The conclusion of 'Before Sunrise' saw Jesse and Céline going their separate ways, as described by EW. They bid each other farewell after promising to reunite in Paris a year later. The original film ended on a note that saw no potential in revisiting these characters once again, with an indeed perfect ending. Linklater, however, being the genius that he is, followed up with the sequel 'Before Sunset'. Nine years after the events of the first movie, unhappily married Jesse is a published writer, and reunites with Céline in Paris while on the last leg of his European book tour. One must watch this movie to believe in it's beauty. Enough said.
3) Dazed & Confused (1993)
As per Vulture, Linklater's own recollections of his late 1970s high school life formed the basis of his early '90s cult classic. 'Dazed & Confused' not only established Linklater as one of the definitive independent voices of his day and age, but it also introduced several talented actors such as Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, and Milla Jovovich. The plot of the film encompasses a 360-degree look at several teenagers finishing high school and looking forward to the life that lies ahead. Truly coming of age in a sense, watching the film still feels like being invited to a frat party.
4) Boyhood (2014)
Nominated for six categories, 'Boyhood' won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette. This labour of love was filmed for a few weeks every Summer for twelve long years with the same crew. Ellar Coltrane appears as Mason Jr., a boy whose growing-up years form the crux of this film. The relationship between Mason and his mother and a largely absent father in the form of Hawke remains compelling to this day.
5) Hit Man (2024)
Linklater penned the script for this movie in collaboration with Glen Powell, who also stars in the film as a demure professor of philosophy who also works part-time as a technical executive at the New Orleans Police Department. However, all hell breaks loose once Powell's character walks down the road in disguise to trap criminals looking for contract killers.
