Before and After Review by Beth Ann Griese

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Starring	Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Edward Furlong
Director	Barbet Schroeder
Year	1996
What it's worth		Cable (If you're sick, stuck in front of the TV, and don't have much better to do with your time...)

Ben Ryan (Liam Neeson), the father, will and does go to any length to make sure that nothing can possibly get his son into trouble, including destroying clues that may lead to the solving of the case. He doesn't care whether the case may find Jacob innocent or guilty. He just wants to remove even the chance that guilt may be found or inferred. Carolyn (Meryl Streep), the mother, is perfectly willing to let the investigation proceed normally. She hopes it will find her son well - and innocent - as long as it does find him and treat him fairly. Unfortunately, she is also all too willing to be persuaded by Ben into staying silent when things need to be said.

It's a sad thing when the little sister, Judith (Julie Weldon), has to act as the voice of reason. She's the only one willing to stand up to the entire family to suggest that the best way to support Jacob would be to make sure the truth is known, and then stand by him, regardless of what that truth might turn out to be.

There's no flaw in this movie's cast of actors. Both the stars and the supporting cast showcase some of the best talent to be found around Hollywood. Furlong, in particular, is extremely sympathetic as the boy caught up in far more than he ever imagined could happen, feeling alone and torn between his parents and their solutions for his problem. His was, by far, the most complex role to play. The mother and the father, unfortunately, get set in their directions and aren't allowed to deviate from those singular ideas through the entire movie.

I suppose the producers intended this story to be controversial, to spark discussion about how much we truly trust the legal system and whether the whole trial process has become anything more than a dog and pony show. But the screenplay failed to give that unsettling notion that maybe, just maybe, the mistrust of the family is justified, and maybe, just maybe, the prosecutors against Jacob have some dirty tricks up their sleeves. We see the defense lawyer preparing every manner of rabbit to pull out of his hat in order to defend Jacob. Since we never see the prosecutors enough to know what they're up to, we don't get any idea of whether such lengths are necessary.

When I saw the previews for Before and After, I was afraid that the movie was going to stoop to cliched cover-up stories and conspiracies against framed kids to cover adult sins. As it turned out, the movie wasn't even that interesting. It could have benefitted by spending more time following the investigations, the events that were swirling around the frightened family, the ripples that their actions cause. Instead, we end up with an extremely narrow focus on the father, mother, brother, and sister, and their inability to come to the conclusions that those of us watching the movie realize should have been reached long ago.

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