Before and After

In the end it's about loving damaged goods - ouselves and others. This film demonstrates the unhappiness that comes from well-intentioned dishonesty and failure to trust our instincts. But it also shows us that if we accept our mistakes we can go on. Meryl and Liam were of course excellent. But, I was particularly taken with Edward Furlough who showed real development in a 16 year-old boy. Not easy to do. Beautiful direction and camera work.

This movie was interesting, but I think the story was a little weak. The message it was trying to convey was worthy of a film, but it wasn't quite done well enough to make this a major success. Edward Furlong, who plays the troubled teen accused of murder, didn't seem very "into" his role. Liam Neeson and Meryl Streep, who play the mother and father, were fantastic, espcially with such a weak script. If nothing else, I recommend it for those two performances. If you can overlook the low grade acting by the younger cast and the inability to get the point across powerfully, it isn't too bad.