I'm probably repeating some of the issues already put forward concerning this film. The father in this movie is an utter ass. He acts only in his own self interest. If such a creep exists, we can see why the kid is a bit messed up. The plot follows the discovery of a young girl's body and a link to a young man (the son) who is connected to her. Once the father, played by Liam Neeson, goes bananas and starts destroying evidence, the die is cast. Meryl Streep's doctor/mother tries to look at things in a sane way, but she is constantly overpowered by her brutish husband. She is a realist and knows what needs to be done. The father makes it so much worse than it could have been that options are really limited. Also, Alfred Molina's lawyer role is so full of it. He chomps on a sandwich while talking about the most serious issue in the world. This is supposed to fill us with confidence (he may be eccentric but I'll bet he's really good). The script and the formulation of the events in this film, not to mention much of the acting just doesn't cut it very well.

"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.

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.