Cast: Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Edward Furlong, Julia Weldon, Alfred Molina, Alison Folland, John Heard
Director: Barbet Schroeder
Producers: Barbet Schroeder and Susan Hoffman
Screenplay: Ted Tally based on the novel by Rosellen Brown
Cinematography: Luciano Tovoli
Music: Howard Shore
U.S. Distributor: Hollywood Pictures
As an indictment of American Law, director Barbet Schroeder's Before and After has little new to offer. Numerous films over the years, from Twelve Angry Men to Eye for an Eye, have voiced various views about what's right and wrong with the U.S. criminal justice system. This particular film has the perspective that "truth" is relative and has little to do with whether someone is convicted or not. Trials are all about credibility, and doubt is the defendant's greatest ally.
However, as an examination of family dynamics, Before and After presents an incisive and stirring picture. And, ultimately, this movie is less about culpability than how a family copes with the realization that one of them may be a murderer. To what lengths should they go to protect him? And which is more important -- faith in his innocence or practical action in case he's guilty?
Rebounding from his disastrously routine slasher flick, Single White Female, and the equally distasteful Kiss of Death, Schroeder forges this tale about a family bound by love, yet torn apart by uncertainty. Jacob (Edward Furlong), the sixteen-year old son of Carolyn (Meryl Streep) and Ben Ryan (Liam Neeson), is suspected of murdering his girlfriend, Martha (Alison Folland). Her body was found in the snow near where she and Jacob had been seen together in his car. Now, Jacob has disappeared and the police want to question him. When Ben conducts a cursory examination of Jacob's car, he finds gloves and a car jack, both covered with blood. He burns the gloves and washes the jack, deciding that protecting his son is more important than destroying evidence. In his own words, "The worst thing you can be called in this world is someone who didn't stand up for his family."
For those who want a little mystery, the truth about Martha's death isn't revealed until past the film's midpoint. Courtroom scenes are thankfully kept to a minimum, since they are, by far, the least interesting parts of Before and After. The majority of the film is structured around Jacob's attempts to cope with the situation, his mother's faith, his father's steadfast refusal to abandon him, and the town's need for retribution. The central relationship is between Jacob and his father. Ben goes to great lengths to prove his love and, consequently, Jacob's actions and reactions are designed not to let this man down.
A degree of Before and After's success must be ascribed to the performers. Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson are in fine form (are they ever otherwise?), and Edward Furlong, who displayed some legitimate dramatic range in Little Odessa, continues to mature as an actor. Julia Weldon is Jacob's younger sister, Judith, and Alfred Molina has an energetic turn as a defense attorney who cares more about what's on his sandwich than whether his client is innocent. John Heard and Ann Magnuson both make cameo appearances.
Despite an overly-melodramatic climax, Before and After is, in large part, an affecting study of a family under pressure. It's easy to love when things are going well, but far more difficult in a crisis, especially when the difference between right and wrong isn't clear-cut. This film could have evolved into a routine Hollywood whodunnit, but Schroeder, cognizant that audiences occasionally crave something more dramatically appealing, has avoided formulaic resolutions. Before and After is the perfect penance for Single White Female, and reaffirms the talents of the man who made gritty, uncompromising features such as Reversal of Fortune.
© 1996 James Berardinelli