In 2004, Hawke returned to film, starring in two features, "Taking Lives" and "Before Sunset". Upon release, "Taking Lives" received broadly negative reviews, but Hawke's performance was favored by critics, with the "Star Tribune" noting that he "plays a complex character persuasively". "Before Sunset", the sequel to "Before Sunrise" (1995) co-written by Hawke, Linklater, and Delpy, was much more successful. The "Hartford Courant" wrote that the three collaborators "keep Jesse and Celine iridescent and fresh, one of the most delightful and moving of all romantic movie couples." Hawke called it one of his favorite movies, a "romance for realists". "Before Sunset" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Hawke's first screenwriting Oscar nomination.