Before/During/After

I caught this lovely film twice on the festival circuit. It was one of those films that stayed with me long after I watched. You can feel the story comes from an authentic and honest place. The acting is spot on and it was great to see familiar actors throughout. I'm always looking for honest female driven stories and this is one that I highly recommend!

I'm a popcorn movie kind of guy, so the prospect of a movie about a middle-aged New York City theater actress having to deal with the end of her 15 year marriage didn't immediately scream 'must watch.' Spoiler alert: I was pleasantly surprised by this movie.

In keeping with the title, before/during/after uses an interesting time structure. Rather than being told chronologically, scenes are intercut from various times in the relationship between Jennie (Finnerty Steeves) and David (Jeremy Davidson, who I remembered from short lived TV show Pan Am, but has also popped up on many shows you've probably seen). The script, written by Steeves, is the reason I liked this movie so much. Sometimes telling a story out of order can come off as gimmicky. Don't hate me, but I think Christopher Nolan overdoes it sometimes. In this case, the structure really pushes the narrative forward by clustering the scenes thematically. Perhaps because of the time shifting, the first few scenes were a bit confusing. However, it starts to make sense a few minutes in and everything ties together at the end.

Another strong point about the script is that it feels genuine and relatable, which is surprising since it is about an actress in New York whose husband is some sort of boat transporter. I found myself gritting my teeth for much of this movie, because what Jennie was going through felt so realistic and uncomfortable. There were some less realistic parts which bordered on parody. The various therapists were a bit over the top and there was a scene with a paperwork specialist that was so ridiculously funny that it seemed out of place, but I laughed out loud, so I'll give it a pass. Small chuckles aside, this is a sad film that avoids many of the overused tropes you'd expect from this type of story. You really feel for Jennie as her relationship slowly disintegrates.

Before/during/after is not the type of movie I gravitate to, but I'm glad I saw it. Steeves has written an excellent script, and in doing so, has crafted a role that she plays perfectly. The 'feel good movie of the year' this isn't, but it is an entertaining and thoughtful look at the death of a perfect marriage.

Greetings again from the darkness. There is no "normal" process for the break-up of a marriage or any relationship. Sometimes it's even be a relief to both participants. But that's not what happened to Finnerty Steeves, and she's written an insightful and grounded script that could hit home (or maybe too close to home) for many. Co-directors Stephen Kunken (who also appears briefly on screen) and Jack Lewars bring the story to life, accentuated by a terrific performance from Ms. Steeves herself.

Jennie (Finnerty Steeves) is a New York stage actress, and one particular audition is used as somewhat of a structural device for the story. The play is (ironically) entitled "To Have and To Hold", and the scene she is reading cuts right to the core of what Jennie has gone through in her life. Her husband David (Jeremy Davidson) has had an affair. After 15 years of marriage, a lack of communication and differing goals, the couple finds their relationship crumbling. Flashbacks are used to show us different points in the relationship - from their wedding reception, to the arguments about his affair, and to the painful ordeal with her pregnancy. The flashbacks are the 'replay' in the mind that anyone would go through in her situation.

We tag along as Jennie and David work their way through a steady stream of frustrating couples therapists, played in order by familiar faces Kate Burton, Richard Masur, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Deborah Rush, and Stephen Kunken (the film's co-director). We are also in the chair with Jennie as she's "drilled" on the relationship by her dentist (the always entertaining Austin Pendleton) and his assistant (Kathleen Chalfant); and then again at Ladies Night Out with her friends - as they provide support for each other and exchange horror stories on past relationships.

There is an authentic feel to the situations and the characters, right down to Jennie's supportive parents played by John Pankow and Kristine Sutherland. On Jennie's first post-divorce date with Clark (John Ellison Conlee), she provides an example of how adults should act in a scenario that doesn't go as planned. It really shouldn't be that difficult to do the right thing, but real life tells us that it evidently is. Divorce often leads one through multiple phases: anger/sadness - acceptance - grief - rebuilding of a life. Noah Baumbach's Best Picture nominee MARRIAGE STORY (2019) showed us a split that shook the Richter scale, and this film conveys something different.

Ms. Steeves has written a terrific script, and her distinctive hangdog facial expressions are perfectly suited to emotional turmoil, yet some of her best acting here is done in the scenes when she's not necessarily sad. The number of familiar faces in the cast is quite impressive, and the gentle infusion of humor helps offset some of the pain Jennie feels. The film deserves bonus points for creating 'hein-hole', a label you'll appreciate once you hear the root explained. On an unrelated, trivial side note that might be of interest to fans of the Harlem Globetrotters, Jeremy Davidson's father, Mickey, played for the Washington Generals. Available On Demand beginning February 9, 2021

There's always someone who assumes that just because you love a movie, and they don't, you're clearly wrong and they're right. This movie has a lot of high scores because a lot of people loved it, as I did. Our opinions are no less valid than those who couldn't appreciate what these filmmakers did so well. Hey, it's all just people giving their opinions, but don't discount the many great reviews because someone thought it was fair. If you're in the right "demo", you're going to love this movie. It's not a "big" movie, or a "fancy" movie, but it's very well-observed, incredibly well-acted, and well-written. This film's story feels lived in. The writer clearly went through this kind of thing in her life, and if you're of a certain age, and you've been through this type of thing, you're going to really relate to this movie, and dare I say, love it too. These stories, for this audience, aren't told very often--certainly not by Hollywood--and when they are, they're not told very well; certainly not as truthfully as you'll find here. My advice: if this story sounds even remotely interesting to you, then watch it. You'll be very glad you did!

All the 10 reviews are obviously people who worked on the film. I didn't care about any of the characters.