Before And After (1996)

A small Massachusetts community is rocked by a shocking killing. The only suspect (Edward Furlong) goes on the run which leaves his parents (Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson) facing a wrenching dilemma. How far will they go to protect him, even if he's guilty. Based on the novel by Rosellen Brown and directed by Barbet Schroeder (REVERSAL OF FORTUNE). This is a frustrating film. Putting aside the morality and the ethics of covering up evidence to protect a family member, this seemingly intelligent family does everything wrong and when everything comes crashing down around them, all I could think was how they brought it on themselves. While the truth is disturbing, it's still the truth and the deceit and cover up only doubles their pain. If something is wrong then it's wrong and sticking up for a family member because family comes before everything is wrong when that family member commits a crime! All this mess could have been avoided if the truth had been told at the very beginning. I had no sympathy for this family and the movie seems to be pushing us into empathizing with the difficulties this family is going through. It doesn't help that Edward Furlong seems to be playing a zombie rather than an actual human. The best thing about the film is the superior score by Howard Shore (DEAD RINGERS). With Alfred Molina, John Heard, Ann Magnuson, Daniel von Bargen, Wesley Addy and Kaiulani Lee.