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:

Doctor | Evidence | Television | Accusation | Family Crisis

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

Colour:

Colour (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: When Ben and Jacob pull to the side of the road and get out of the car to talk, the right blinker is on. When they get back in, the blinker is off.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Stuck on You (2003)

A Very Solid Piece of Storytelling

THE PLOT: Solid drama detailing how a family copes after their teenage son is accused of killing his girlfriend.

THE POSITIVE: Thoroughly engrossing and believable from beginning to end and full of some very intriguing plot twists. It is fascinating how it examines things from a completely unique perspective namely the family members of the perpetrator, which is rarely ever done. The story is also interesting in that it gets the viewer too become quite attached to Furlong who plays the accused. The film also forces the viewer to face and question their own moral judgements, which is good since many films these days seem timid at digging too deeply into anything of a serious nature or forcing the viewer to confront any of their preconceived notions.

THE NEGATIVE: The film lacks any real cinematic style and at times almost looks like it is a TV-movie. Streep is okay here, but this is definitely not one of her better performances. There is a love making scene here between her and Neeson that looks very mechanical and is completely unnecessary. Viewers who have had family members or friends that have been victims of crimes may find themselves upset with some of the moral conclusions.

THE LOWDOWN: Overall this is a pretty strong drama that presents a lot of issues that are very timely and haven't been done anywhere else. Despite a lack of flair or visual style it is still a very strong piece of storytelling with a very good performance by Furlong.

THE RATING: 8out of 10.