Hawke's next role was in the Generation X drama "Reality Bites" (1994), in which he played Troy, a slacker who mocks the ambitions of his girlfriend (played by Winona Ryder). Film critic Roger Ebert called Hawke's performance convincing and noteworthy: "Hawke captures all the right notes as the boorish Troy (and is so convincing it is worth noting that he has played quite different characters equally well in movies as different as "Alive" and "Dead Poets Society")." "The New York Times" noted, "Mr. Hawke's subtle and strong performance makes it clear that Troy feels things too deeply to risk failure and admit he's feeling anything at all." The following year Hawke received critical acclaim for his performance in Richard Linklater's 1995 drama "Before Sunrise". The film follows a young American man (Hawke) and a young French woman (Julie Delpy), who meet on a train and disembark in Vienna, spending the night exploring the city and getting to know one another. The "San Francisco Chronicle" praised Hawke’s and Delpy's performances: " interact so gently and simply that you feel certain that they helped write the dialogue. Each of them seems to have something personal at stake in their performances."