Review of Before and After

** Spoilers ** In this movie about a young boy who does not show up at home one cold evening and the ensuing mystery of why, there are plot holes galore: how did the kid get the car out of being stuck, why did he drive home, why did he leave the bloody evidence in the trunk, where did he go on that cold night after returning the car to his home, what kind of clothes did he take with him, what did he do for money, why was the father so immediately defensive about his son, what was the motivation for the kid's remaining totally silent and sullen upon his first meeting with his parents, were they willing to let some other kid take the rap, why did the people who threw a rock through the widow wait around long enough to get caught up with? I could go on.

The movie does hold your interest until you start asking yourself questions about what is going on.

This is the weakest performance I have ever seen Meryl Streep turn in, she just does not seem engaged. Liam Neeson gives it a go, but is defeated by the poor script. Julia Weldon is O.K. as the daughter, but she speaks with a philosophical maturity well beyond her twelve-something years. I thought Edward Furlong was effective in playing the sensitive and moody teen and Alfred Molina brought some spark to his portrayal of a bulldog attorney. But overall pretty much a waste of acting talent.

The unfortunate thing is that there was enough talent here to make this so much better if the script had just been tightened up.