Brown's novel was so gripping and emotionally difficult precisely because Jacob did murder his girlfriend in cold blood. We struggle with the family as they come to grips with this hard truth: a seemingly "normal" family can indeed produce a dysfunctional, disturbed child and educated, thoughtful parents are often powerless to understand why. All of the dramatic power came from the adults struggling to figure out what to do with a son they don't recognize, and a younger sister knowing very well who her brother is but unable to share that information because the adults are interested in hearing it.

The movie pulled the teeth from this story when it gave us the eleventh-hour confession of Jacob's crime as *an accident*. Good grief. The movie, which wasn't very good to start with, then collapsed into unbelievable, sentimental pap.

My sympathies are with the author, who must have been appalled.

Meryl Streep proves as always that she is one of the greatest actresses around. Her every action and word is always believable as if she's experiencing this in real life. Her role as the mother is flawless. Liam Neeson performs his role as the father with every drop of emotion dripping down his face. Edward Furlong's role as the accused son reaches the high level that few other child stars have accomplished. Alfred Molina's role as the determined attorney proves that he will reach further fame soon as he deserves. All the other actors, small or big, perform their roles wonderfully.

"Before And After" is a wonderful movie for everyone to enjoy. Some may have to watch it a second time to fully understand the series of events, but one will be glad afterwards. This is a movie no one will forget.

The film takes place in a rural area of Massachusetts, where an artist by profession, Ben Ryan (Liam Neeson), and his doctor wife, Carolyn (Meryl Streep), live with their two teenage children, Jacob (Edward Furlong) and Judith (Julia Weldon). Unbeknownst to Ben and Carolyn, Jacob is carrying on with the town's junior vixen. Things come to the fore when the young woman is found dead, and their son disappears. Naturally, things do not look good for Jacob. The well respected Ryan family suddenly find itself cast in the role of the town pariah, shunned by many of the local yokels.

Ben takes things into his own hand upon discovering evidence that would implicate Jacob in the girl's death and destroys that seemingly inculpatory evidence. When Jacob is apprehended and returned to face charges, the Ryans, upon the advice of a local attorney and friend, Wendell Bye (John Heard), obtain an experienced criminal defense attorney, Panos Demeris (Alfred Molina), for their son. Thereafter, Ben and Carolyn proceed to disregard everything that the attorney advises them to do. Moreover, they each do their own thing with respect to their son's interest, much to his detriment.

Ben comes across as a somewhat unlikable and doltish, single-minded character. While Carolyn, who seems to have a moral compass and knows the right thing to do, comes across as a foolish woman who neglects to include her son's attorney in the equation. Moreover, Liam goes and does exactly the opposite of what the attorney suggests, thinking that he knows better, as does Carolyn. The only ones in the Ryan family who are likable are our erstwhile killer and his sister.

Edward Furlong gives an excellent performance as Jacob, a young man who acts inappropriately when faced with what can only be characterized as a terrible tragedy, one that he did not foresee but perhaps should have. He ultimately finds his own moral compass, despite his father, and manages to make his troubled character sympathetic.

Meryl Streep gives a sanctimonious and priggish performance, barely able to rise above the banality of her character, while Liam Neeson's performance is best characterized as that of a bellowing bull in a china shop. Angelo Molina gives a an smoothly adept performance as the canny defense attorney who knows only too well what lies ahead for his hapless client, given the antics of Jacob's idiotic, though well-meaning, parents.

This is a drama that should have held the viewer spellbound, but which, instead, succeeds only in irritating the viewer for the most part. Moreover, the ending is absolutely ridiculous. The filmmakers should have had a legal consultant on the payroll, preferably one with a working knowledge of criminal law. If they did, then they should consider suing whoever advised them so poorly.