Before and After

Before and After is a 1996 American crime drama about a family in a small town whose life is upended when the girlfriend of their teenage son, Jacob, is found dead. Jacob disappears, and suspicion quickly falls on him, since he was known to have been with the young woman shortly before her death. His parents, Carolyn and Ben Ryan, refuse at first to accept that their son could be responsible, but when Ben comes across evidence that points to Jacob's involvement, he destroys it, and the couple's attempts to protect their child leave them increasingly isolated from their community as the police investigation continues. The film stars Meryl Streep as Carolyn, Liam Neeson as Ben, Edward Furlong as Jacob, Julia Weldon as Jacob's sister Judith, Alfred Molina as Panos Demeris and Daniel von Bargen as Fran Conklin. It was directed by Barbet Schroeder from a screenplay by Ted Tally, and was based on Rosellen Brown's novel of the same name.

Before and After was released in February 1996 and runs 108 minutes. It followed several thrillers in Schroeder's filmography, including Single White Female and Kiss of Death.

Made for a budget of 35 million dollars, the film took in around 9 million dollars worldwide, a poor return. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.1 out of 10 from roughly 11,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 5.9 from about 220 votes; a critics' rating of 4.9 from 20 reviews places it below the audience scores.