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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 February 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Antes y después

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, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$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

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Meryl Streep enters a court room to appear in front of the grand jury in the front row (in the middle of the frame) sits a young Paul Giamatti as an extra his head turned around to have a look at her.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Jacob Ryan: That's juts a bunch of sentimental bullshit.
Carolyn Ryan: Wait, sentimental bullshit
Jacob Ryan: Yeah everyone's parents say that.
Carolyn Ryan: Oh really, and do everyone's parent destroy evidence and lie... to the police?

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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

Sonate Pathetique
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

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.