Before and After

This is an all too common problem: someone somewhere convinces bona fide movie stars, in this case Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson, no less, to appear in a feature film that, without movie star names attached, would have ended up as made for TV. This is a weak script with bad, predictable dialogue - very disappointing with such a cast. With some reworking, it might have been a very powerful family story, perhaps never as compelling as Ordinary People, for instance, but better than it was.

Great actors, good director. Boring story.

Listed as a mystery / thriller, this movie is no such thing. It is a more of a family drama.

The wire could have done a better job of plotting and building suspense. And the kid's lines sound too adult. No kid talks like that.

The only redeeming quality was the young girl.

Liam Neeson plays a hot headed artist to his doctor wife, played by Meryl Streep. Edward Furlong plays their 16-year old son and Julie Weldon their 12-year old daughter. They do well; Julie is particularly good. It is just that awful script.

The set is good. Cinematography is fair. The direction is fine.

The locations are pleasing to the eye, and Meryl Streep is effortlessly convincing as the mother. But Liam Neeson's performance doesn't ring true for a moment, Edward Furlong appears to be less shocked by the gruesome events than simply stoned, and the outcome of the plot is awkward and unconvincing. "Before and After" is basically a small-scale family melodrama that belongs on the TV screen; without these high-profile actors, I wonder if it would ever have gotten theatrical distribution. (**1/2)

"Before and After" isn't any kind of great movie, but an interesting look at situations going out of control. Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson turn in their usual good performances, as does Edward Furlong. It's just that this story of parents having to deal with their son getting accused of murder is sort of routine (although some scenes are pretty intense). It seems like Streep and Neeson deserve something a little more than this. The people behind the movie probably could have developed things a little further.

All in all, this movie's worth seeing, if only once. Also starring Alfred Molina, Daniel Von Bargen (Commandant Spengler on "Malcolm in the Middle") and John Heard.

BEFORE AND AFTER

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Digital

A middle-class New England family is forced to confront a range of difficult issues when the eldest child (Edward Furlong) is accused of murdering his girlfriend (Alison Folland).

Barbet Schroeder's earnest drama looks and feels like a big-screen TV movie, toplined by A-list stars and filmed with professional elegance on wintry New England locations. Schroeder struggles to avoid melodrama and mawkishness, resulting in a lack of tension, as parents Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson become torn between protecting their son and telling the truth about his possible involvement in Folland's death. Frustrated lawyer Alfred Molina makes the point that 'truth' has little or no bearing on the criminal justice system, where defence and prosecution teams become engaged in brinkmanship designed to sway the jury one way or another. Ted Tally's screenplay makes a number of similar points, but the narrative begins to drift around the halfway mark and never really recovers. Some will be won over by the cast and production values, others won't be so forgiving.