Before and After (1996)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Barbet Schroeder

Writers (WGA):

Rosellen Brown (book)
Ted Tally (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A murder. A suspect. A shadow of a doubt.

Plot:

Two parents deal with the effects when their son is accused of murdering his girlfriend.

Plot Keywords:

Evidence | Doctor | Unplanned Pregnancy | Dead Girl | Letter

Cast

Meryl Streep	...	Dr. Carolyn Ryan
Liam Neeson	...	Ben Ryan
Edward Furlong	...	Jacob Ryan
Julia Weldon	...	Judith Ryan
Alfred Molina	...	Panos Demeris
Daniel von Bargen	...	Fran Conklin
John Heard	...	Wendell Bye
Ann Magnuson	...	Terry Taverner
Alison Folland	...	Martha Taverner
Kaiulani Lee	...	Marian Raynor, Prosecutor
Larry Pine	...	Dr. Tom McAnally
Ellen Lancaster	...	Panos' Assistant
Wesley Addy	...	Judge Grady
Oliver Graney	...	T.J
Bernadette Quigley	...	T.J.'s Mom

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some disturbing images of violence, brief strong language and some sensuality.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 (w) | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34185) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Bergen County Court House - 10 Main Street, Hackensack, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Caravan Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: During the initial lawyer conference, the sandwich, the napkin, and the sandwich wrapper in front of the lawyer change relative position and the wrapper changes shape, several times, without the lawyer touching them. Or hearing the sound of the wrapper being moved/reshaped.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Stuck on You (2003)

A Moderately interesting character study of a family in crisis.

"Before and After" has a fine premise - the girlfriend of their 16-yr-old son is found apparently murdered in the snow and the parents struggle with what to do. Eventually, when the son goes A.W.O.L., they suspect he commited a murder, and the whole family struggles with what to do. The father finds bloody items in the trunk of the car and is able to dispose of them before the sheriff returns with a search warrant. Eventually the son shows up, the father and mother disagree on what to do, the younger sister gets upset.

"Before and After" also has some of the finest actors of our day - Liam Neeson as the father, Meryl Streep as the mother, Daniel Von Bargen as the sheriff.

But, somehow the movie only works moderately well. Some of the dialog is a bit dubious, some of the scenes are over-dramatic. I suppose it is a function of so-so writing and directing.

Still, it is a film that kept my interest very well. The story got me to thinking what I would have done if any of my teenage children had gotten into a similar bind. With a great writer and director this could have been a "10" movie. I rate it 7 of 10.