Before and After (1996)

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

Director:

Barbet Schroeder

Writers:

Rosellen Brown (book), Ted Tally (screenplay)

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Edward Furlong

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meryl Streep	...	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

Storyline

When teenage son Jacob is being accused of murdering his girlfriend, the well-respected and close-knit Ryan family is in turmoil. Jacob flees, father Ben destroys possible evidence, the village community turns hostile and mother Carolyn is forced to temporarily close her doctor's practice. Then Jacob gets arrested and soon finds himself and his family entangled in a web of truth, trust and lies, all on his way to court.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | suspect | lie | boyfriend girlfriend relationship | murder investigation | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Ryans were originally going to be a wealthy Jewish-American family and the hatred towards them after their son may have committed a murder was going to be related to Anti-Semitism. But the studio didn't want to deal those issues, and also didn't think that it made sense to have Liam Neeson in particular playing a Jewish character, so the family was made into a generic group of Caucasians.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

[Jude visits her and Jake's tree house]
Judith Ryan: Jake? I know you don't wanna talk, but I just need to see you. Can I come up? Please?
[No response. Jude turns away, dejected. Then, the ladder falls down. Jude climbs up]
Judith Ryan: Can I just ask you one question?
[Jake says nothing]
Judith Ryan: Did you ever really go anywhere, Jake?
[Jake still says nothing]
Judith Ryan: Okay. That's cool. I understand. But, just so you know, when you were in that jail, I tried to come. They wouldn't let me. Jake, I really wanted to see you. They act like they ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Before and After/Rumble in the Bronx/Mary Reilly/Unforgettable/Mr. Wrong (1996)

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Soundtracks

Crawling
Written by Dave McClain and Phil Rind
Performed by Sacred Reich
courtesy of Hollywood Records

User Reviews

Huge potential-bad script

'Before and After' is the kind of movie that you expect to be really fantastic. Great actors, good plot. It has huge potential. Unfortunately, the actual script seriously flaws this movie. There stand brilliant actors such as Liam Neeson, Meryl Streep, and Edward Furlong. But the actual words coming out of their mouths were often so silly, it makes you wonder how the same person who wrote 'The Silence of the Lambs' also wrote this screenplay. Overall, despite the script flaws, it has quite a good mystery, and besides the young daughter, a brilliant cast. It is worth a watch, if just for the main casts' beautiful performances.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 February 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Before and After

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,023,815, 25 February 1996

Gross USA:

$8,797,839

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,797,839

Company Credits

Production Co:

Caravan Pictures, Hollywood Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1