Before and After (1996)

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

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: 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)

Compelling theme is weakened with low production standards

The shortcomings of the United States' justice system are explored in "Before and After". A youth (Jacob) is fighting with his girlfriend and she accidentally falls on a jack which kills her. The family grapples with whether or not to tell the truth not only the courts but to their own lawyer and police officer who is a family friend. Is it morally right to tell the truth that the girl's death was nothing more than a mere accident and hope that it will be believed or should a story be made up in the hopes that Jacob will be let off since the police have no evidence. (The father, in the interests of protecting his son, wiped the jack clean of the blood).

We learn of course, that everyone is against the mother and son who want to just tell the truth, especially the lawyer who is interested more in getting Jacob off the hook, no matter how much of a story he has to invent, how many lies he has to tell, how many people's characters he has to besmirch. The moral structure behind the criminal justice system in the U.S. is uncovered as not one that seeks what is right or true but what kind of entertaining bi-polar battles between the defense and the prosecution can be unleashed in a furious game of words.

While the theme of the film is compelling, the production standards are low. This seems more like a made-for-TV movie. With big guns like Liam Neeson and Meryl Streep you'd expect better acting. While Streep's performance is okay, Neeson seems like not the best choice for this role. Also, the actor playing the second dark-haired lawyer seems too clownish for his role. Surprisingly, I found that the young actors were the strongest. The actors playing the two children, especially "Jacob" were extremely skilled.