Richard Linklater is back on the clock with ‘Before Midnight’

It’s rare for a talky, character-driven drama to be given one sequel, let alone two. Yet with “Before Midnight� — Richard Linklater’s reprisal of characters he first made famous 18 years ago in “Before Sunrise� — the director has done just that.

The film, which opens May 24, returns us to the lovelorn Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy). This time, the pair — he darkly comic, she earnest and idealistic — aren’t meeting by chance but are vacationing on a Greek island, having gotten together nearly a decade ago. Now in their 40s and a little wiser for it, they’re living together in Paris and raising twin daughters — a turn that resolves the question about their collective fate posed at the end of the second film, “Before Sunset,� all the way back in 2004.

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“It’s a rare opportunity in the sequel industry to have a movie with such a long gestation period,� Linklater said by phone. “Most sequels are instantaneous, victory-lap kind of films. They don’t have the luxury of not being in a hurry.�

Still, “Midnight� is conscious of what came before and slyly pushes off it. With that in mind, here’s a Linklater-supplemented guide to the common areas and how the new film does — and doesn’t — offer callbacks to its predecessors.

Location: “Sunrise� took place on the streets of Vienna; “Sunset� in Paris. The backdrop shifts dramatically here — it’s a beautiful natural landscape far removed from the previous urban bustle. “I thought it made sense to set this outside the city,� Linklater said. “There’s something paradisiacal about where they are, which makes it much more interesting when problems start later.�

Transportation: Jesse and Celine first met on a train, with all its people and possibilities. “Midnight,� on the other hand, opens with a nearly 15-minute take in a car, and all its intimacy and claustrophobia. “I wanted to show that their world has closed a bit, and they’re stuck with each other,� Linklater said. “But that’s OK. A train signifies adventure. But the confinement of a car can be good for a relationship — it forces you to talk.�

The youngsters: In “Sunrise,� Jesse and Celine were practically kids themselves. In “Sunset� Jesse had a son, never shown. Here? There are three kids, all seen on-screen. It’s a reflection, of sorts, of the lives of Linklater, Hawke and Delpy, who went from one child among them in 1995 (Linklater’s) to eight.

The title: The “Before� is kept, but for this go-round it’s the numbers on a clock, not a solar state, that follows. “Time is a big element in these movies and in how these characters relate to their lives, so I wanted to include that in the title.� Of course, doesn’t that leave six more hours to cover? “Maybe there’s one more movie to complete a 24-hour cycle,� Linklater agreed with a laugh.

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