Before and After

• Two of Hollywood's brightest stars, Meryl Streep (THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, DEATH BECOMES HER), and Liam Neeson (SCHINDLER'S LIST) deliver spellbinding performances in this riveting, suspense-filled thriller! A small, close-knit community is rocked by a shocking murder -- and the only suspect is the teenage son of a respected local family. Suddenly, Dr. Carolyn Ryan (Streep) and her h

Two of Hollywood's brightest stars, Meryl Streep (THE HOURS, ADAPTATION), and Liam Neeson (GANGS OF NEW YORK, SCHINDLER'S LIST) deliver spellbinding performances in this riveting, suspense-filled thriller! A small, close-knit community is rocked by a shocking murder -- and the only suspect is the teenage son of a respected local family. Suddenly, Dr. Carolyn Ryan (Streep) and her husband, Ben (Neeson) are faced with a gut-wrenching dilemma: Whether to risk everything on their son's innocence ... or protect ! him from his possible guilt! Devastating yet powerfully entertaining, you're sure to agree with critics everywhere who found BEFORE AND AFTER thrilling from beginning to end!Liam Neeson and Meryl Streep play a couple going through a parents' nightmare: Their son (Edward Furlong) is accused of murdering a local girl. What's worse, he's gone into hiding, seeming to lend credence to the charges. Neeson, as a passionate, intuitive artist, tries to take matters into his own hands; when he finds what appear to be blood-stained clothes in the kid's car, he cleans the whole thing up and winds up destroying evidence, making matters increasingly worse. Before and After is a solid if stolid drama, with a strong, controlled performance by Streep as the worried wife and mother, while Neeson comes off as overwrought playing the controlling father. Given the subject matter and the presence of director Barbet Schroeder, this movie should be a lot more interesting than it is. --M! arshall Fine