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Before and After

Play trailer Poster for Before and After PG-13 1996 1h 48m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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32% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 35% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
The lives of Carolyn Ryan (Meryl Streep), a small-town doctor, and her artist husband, Ben (Liam Neeson), are shaken up when their son, Jacob (Edward Furlong), becomes the prime suspect in the death of a local teen girl. While Carolyn is intent on learning the truth about her son's involvement, Ben is willing to protect him at any cost, regardless of his guilt or innocence. When Jacob finally tells his parents what happened, events take a surprising series of turns.
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Before and After

Critics Reviews

View All (19) Critics Reviews
Nell Minow Movie Mom Uneven script, but strong performances by a powerhouse cast. Rated: 3/5 Jun 20, 2003 Full Review Steve Davis Austin Chronicle Rated: 2.5/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times It's one of those movies where you want to call out helpful advice to the screen, which would save the characters a lot of trouble. Rated: 2/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Chuck O'Leary Fantastica Daily Rated: 3/5 Oct 9, 2005 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jul 18, 2005 Full Review Randy Shulman Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) Rated: 2/5 Aug 6, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (144) audience reviews
Eileen S I looked at the cast and thought it couldn't be bad. I was wrong. The actors bravely soldiered through the hackneyed, amateurish script, but were unable to save it, and the lawyer character was a caricature. I suspect the direction was bad, too, because I know the cast to be capable of great things. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/16/24 Full Review jerry s If a good crime drama is like a great party, then the Meryl Streep character is Mommy cleaning the kitchen and then telling everyone it's time to go to bed at 9:30. Air goes out of the balloon on this one after a promising build up. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 11/02/24 Full Review Gail H I can't believe I wasted an evening on this movie. I kept waiting for it to become engaging. I wasted more time when I finally fast forwarded it to the last 10 minutes. Don't be fooled because Meryl Streep is in it. She must've been desperate for money to accept this role. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/02/24 Full Review Kay F Stilted dialogue, sappy script and subpar acting. Don’t waste your time. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 10/25/24 Full Review Avalon T Great movie. Excellent movie and an original topic- so many movies seem to have similar topics. This one was rhought provoking and different. I'd recommends this one. I'm surprised the ratings to be higher. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/09/24 Full Review j F The acting was excellent, but Meryl Streep deserves a stronger script. Her role was too meek, especially against Lian Nielson. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/21/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Before and After

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis The lives of Carolyn Ryan (Meryl Streep), a small-town doctor, and her artist husband, Ben (Liam Neeson), are shaken up when their son, Jacob (Edward Furlong), becomes the prime suspect in the death of a local teen girl. While Carolyn is intent on learning the truth about her son's involvement, Ben is willing to protect him at any cost, regardless of his guilt or innocence. When Jacob finally tells his parents what happened, events take a surprising series of turns.
Director
Barbet Schroeder
Producer
Barbet Schroeder, Susan Hoffman
Screenwriter
Ted Tally
Production Co
Buena Vista (Walt Disney), Caravan Pictures, Hollywood Pictures
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$8.8M
Runtime
1h 48m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
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