While Affleck has taken a circuitous route through Hollywood, which included some questionable action movies and a romantic media sensation dubbed Bennifer that led to Gigli and Jersey Girl, the actor has emerged as one of the best young directors in Hollywood today.

FORBES: Why Ben Affleck's Argo Should Win The Best Picture Oscar

The music is both refined and brutal, late-Romantic opulence pinned to raw action.

NEWYORKER: Fiasco

The most distinctive of American cities, New Orleans is also hopelessly romantic with its eclectic and action packed fusion of European and American cultures, Creole, Cajun, French and Caribbean.

FORBES: Windsor Court Hotel, New Orleans, LA

Samuel Fuller, who was a novelist as well as movie director, used to write up these big storyboards, not necessarily with ideas, but he would have this different - the sequence of scenes in different colors: red for a romantic scene, blue for an action sequence - and try to vary his pace that way.

NPR: Could You Be the Great American Novelist?

"Before Midnight" is perhaps the most highly anticipated movie sequel this summer that is neither a comedy nor an action-adventure movie, and its predecessors rank high on many lists of best romantic movies.

WSJ: 'Before,' and After | Julie Delpy | Cultural Conversation by Martin Johnson