Before and After

"A murder. A suspect. A shadow of a doubt."

1996 1h 48m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 221

CrimeDramaMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Two parents deal with the effects when their son is accused of murdering his girlfriend.

“A murder. A suspect. A shadow of a doubt.”

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Cast

Meryl Streep
Carolyn Ryan
Liam Neeson
Ben Ryan
Edward Furlong
Jacob Ryan
Julia Weldon
Judith Ryan
Alfred Molina
Panos Demeris
Daniel von Bargen
Fran Conklin
John Heard
Wendell Bye
Ann Magnuson
Terry Taverner

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Barbet Schroeder
Writers: Ted Tally
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Barbet Schroeder, shot by Luciano Tovoli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lee Percy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson and Edward Furlong carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A murder. A suspect. A shadow of a doubt.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0115645 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Barbet Schroeder directs. Luciano Tovoli behind the camera. Howard Shore scores. Lee Percy cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
230 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Barbet Schroeder, shot by Luciano Tovoli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Lee Percy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson and Edward Furlong carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A murder. A suspect. A shadow of a doubt.".
8IMDB entry: tt0115645 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Luciano Tovoli
Original score: Howard Shore
Editing: Lee Percy
Production design: Stuart Wurtzel
Costume design: Ann Roth
Makeup / hair: Jean Ann Black
VFX supervisor: Stuart Robertson
Sound: Michael Barry
Stunt coordinator: Doug Coleman
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $35,000,000
Box office: $8,797,839
Return: 25% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Before and After (1996)

Also by

Barbet Schroeder

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-04-24
★ 6/10
Edward Furlong "Jacob" puts in a reasonable effort here, but otherwise this is a really unremarkable drama that muddles along despite rather than because of the two stars at the top of the bill. When a young girl is murdered, he is the suspect and so dad "Liam Neeson" immediately takes steps to help his son by destroying what looks like damning evidence. The ensuing court case pushes the usual array of buttons as the intra-familial relationships between him, his father, mother (Meryl Streep) and sister "Judith" (Julia Weldon) are strained. Alfred Molina is actually quite plausible as the win-at-all-costs lawyer "Demeris" and we plod along, glacially, to a ending about which I couldn't actually care. It's not a terrible film, all of the cast deliver what is asked of them, but the narrative meanders all over the shop all too often; the dialogue and faux-emotional scenes are flat and the ending just re-iterated a question that so many of these pointless dramas are predicated on... Why not just go to the police in the first place and rely on them to do their jobs properly?

Production companies