Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Before and After Blu-ray Movie Review

One of Mill Creek's best releases to date.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 26, 2012

Your whole life can change in a second.

Before.
A knock on the door. An old friend. Bad news. Bad blood. Confrontation. Accusation. Fear. Truth. Doubt. Cover-up. Denial. Uncertainty. Relief.
After.
Director Barbet Schroeder's (Desperate Measures) Before and After cycles through the stages of terrible family drama. Accusations of murder bring out the best and worst of an otherwise stable, happy home life. Father rushes to hide the facts, mother battles with integrity. Daughter is confused, son must face the truth. How far will a family go to remain together, and what chance of breakage will it take on for justice? The film dynamically rifts husband and wife as they drift apart in crisis, not emotionally or romantically but certainly in their evolving acceptance of circumstance, in how far they're willing to go to see their son set free. While Before and After brings nothing new to the table, it proves to be an involved and often intoxicating feature that will leave audiences thinking through the specifics as they are presented on the screen while also pondering such a fate in their own lives, lives which "can change in a second" where there is everything before, and everything after.

Our son is innocent.

The Ryan's -- father Ben (Liam Neeson, Taken), mother Carolyn (Meryl Streep, The River Wild), son Jacob (Edward Furlong, American History X), and daughter Judith (Julia Weldon, Parallel Sons ) -- are a well-to-do upper-middle-class family that seems safe and secure, impenetrable and sheltered from the dangers of the outside. That illusion is shattered when a typical family evening -- Judith's practicing on the piano, Carolyn's just home from a tough shift at the hospital, and Ben's making his famous chili dinner -- is interrupted by a visit from local law enforcement officer and family friend Fran Conklin (Daniel von Bargen, The Silence of the Lambs). Fran's visit isn't social or cordial. He arrives with bad news: a local girl is dead, and there's a strong possibility that Jacob's somehow involved in her death. Ben takes the news poorly. He doesn't believe Jacob capable of such a deed, and he refuses to cooperate until Fran can return with a warrant. Fran promises to come back with the appropriate documents, and Ben uses that time to search his son's car. He finds bloody evidence and chooses to destroy it in the hope of protecting his son, whose whereabouts are unknown.

The court-ordered search, on the other hand, turns up no evidence tying Jacob directly to the crime, but authorities do find a nude picture of the now-deceased girl, evidence that all but cements the connection between the victim and the suspect. Ryan family attorney Wendell Bye (John Heard, Home Alone) recommends the family hire a more experienced, more ruthless attorney (Alfred Molina, An Education) whose tough questions, no-nonsense approach, and dedication to Jacob's freedom rather than the truth doesn't sit well with Carolyn. As the parents struggle to come to terms with what their son may or may not have done, as Jacob's whereabout remain unknown, the case takes several turns for the bizarre and seems headed in a direction where there's no easy solution for a matter which might tear a community -- and a family -- apart forever.

While the plot's not all that novel and the film sometimes labors through some basic "movie of the week" clichés and generic storytelling elements, Before and After generally proves to be a compelling feature that examines what happens to an otherwise normal family when things suddenly change in the blink of an eye. For the most part, and despite its general elements, the picture moves beyond the basics and proves fairly engaging. It's almost as of two films in one, a murder mystery in its first half and a dark and troubling family drama in its second. The picture works best, however, in its bookends. The opening frenzy between shocked family and determined law draws out incredible cinematic tension, while the final act's portrayal of the struggle between guilt-ridden mother and staunch and stubborn father delivers a dynamic and fascinating back-and-forth as the family moves through the raw emotions and complex thought processes that are involved in giving shape to and working through unimaginable trauma where the fate of not only a family member but the entire family unit is at stake.

The film's drama and moments of heightened intensity are made all the better by what are, generally, very strong performances from the lead characters. Before and After is largely elevated from "recycled Drama" to "intensive character study" thanks largely to the efforts of Neeson and Streep, who portray almost emotionally and psychologically warring spouses who want to see the situation through and with the same resolution -- justice and freedom for their son -- but who espouse differing ways of getting there. The actors dig deeply and find a greater sense of family and togetherness and uncertainty and fear than what is presented in a script that's not far removed from the lower rungs of dramatic entertainment. This is a case of two vastly talented actors -- and throw Alfred Molina in the mix as well, playing the role of the unapologetic, hard-hitting, win-at-all-costs defense attorney with a sixth sense for the process that leaves audiences believing he's every bit the character -- and it's easy to see how and why Before and After so easily ascends above the masses. The only real weak spot amongst the cast is Edward Furlong. The movie's much better either in his absence or in his silence; the forced and monotonous way in which he delivers his lines and the sense of faux emotion with which he physically acts them downgrades the movie from a terrific first act, though the film does again find its stride in its final stretch as it shifts to a battle of wills and ideas between Neeson and Streep.

Before and After Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Before and After makes its Blu-ray debut with a fundamentally sound 1080p transfer, one of the very best under the Mill Creek label. The image retains a natural layer of film grain evident from the film's cold, snowy, gray opening shots and onward all the way through to the end. Details are even and impressive, whether heavy clothing textures, natural facial lines and creases, or odds and ends and various surfaces around the Ryan household or the various courtrooms or law offices. Colors are even and natural. The image handles the dreary winter exteriors, the tastefully colorful Ryan home interiors, and the warm wooden hues found around those law offices and courtrooms with equal precision and realism. Black fare well, and flesh tones never stray too far from accurate. There are a couple of light speckles here and there, but the print is rather clean and free of natural wear-and-tear. Better still, the transfer never succumbs to excess banding, blocking, and the like. This is a very pleasant, true-to-film transfer. This should be the template for future Mill Creek Blu-ray 1990s catalogue transfers.

Before and After Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Before and After's soundtrack isn't the most dynamic, system-stretching experience out there, but Mill Creek's DTS-HD MA 5.1 presentation seems fairly true to the rather limited and mundane source. The opening title music, and all to follow, for that matter, plays with smooth, natural spacing and good, positive clarity, easily and naturally encircling the soundstage and making tastefully good use of the surrounds. Light ambiance is evident throughout, whether passing cars around town or at a busy courthouse waiting area. Dialogue is accurate and comes easily from the center channel. That's all she wrote, really, for this one. It's mostly all dialogue with a few supporting elements, and the track brings it all to Blu-ray and into the home with admirable stability and cinematic clarity.

Before and After Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, this Blu-ray release of Before and After contains only the film's original theatrical trailer (480i, 2:51).

Before and After Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The moral of the story here appears to be that honesty equals integrity equals a cleaner conscience equals a stronger family equals a lesser sentence. Keep that in mind the next time an altercation leads to death; "manslaughter" is still no joke of a charge. Before and After tells the somewhat gripping tale of a young boy's involvement in the death of his girlfriend, his family's struggle with the facts, and the decision to cover for the boy or reveal the truth. The film is of a high quality, with strong performances and a mostly gripping narrative. It struggles through a few "movie of the week" stretches of dialogue and drama, as well as a rather weak effort from Edward Furlong, but on the whole Before and After proves a gripping, highly watchable Drama. Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of Before and After is technically strong. The fine video and audio are amongst the best ever released under the Mill Creek Blu-ray banner, but the absence of supplemental material is a real downer. Still, given the quality of the movie, its tight technical presentation, and the low asking price, this one comes highly recommended.