Movie of the day: Before and After
Do it for the love of the game
I’ve explained that “deep cuts” are my MovieGrid passion. So I am always out here looking for new movies to add to my repertoire.
Movies that you and I have never heard of, starring really famous actors. Sometimes the movies are from before they hit big and sometimes they are from the height of their fame and have been subsequently buried for good reason.
What I’m saying is, I put myself through a lot of terrible movies. In fact, I probably won’t watch a movie unless it has intrinsic value to my MovieGrid game. I’m not saying it’s the correct way to live your life. This isn’t for everyone. This life chose me.
Sometimes a deep cut comes to me while I’m scrolling social media or reading. Other times, I seek them out. Today, I went looking over on Amazon Prime.
I was actually trying to watch Mother’s Instinct (2024), which I’ve been meaning to add to my Hathaway/Chastain repertoire for a while now. When I discovered that I had to pay to rent it, I moved on to scrolling for something else.
That’s when it happened. I passed by Before and After (1996), starring Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson. Never heard of it in my life.
Initially it is intriguing to watch them in a movie together. Like, how did this happen?
It’s about a family in a small town in Massachusetts. Meryl is a doctor, Liam is an artist. They have a really nice property with a big house and barn/studio space. Meryl comes home the hospital where she saw a teenage girl die and she just wants to chill and drink wine with dinner. But a local cop comes by to speak to their son. The son has been secretly dating the dead girl for months and they need to talk to him.
At this point, the son has already left town. Liam Neeson destroys some evidence in the son’s car before the cop can come back with a warrant.
The son is eventually found and he needs a defense attorney who is Alfred Molina. There is a lot of yelling and crying and harassment from the town. Finally the son shares what happened and he DID kill the girlfriend, though accidentally. Meryl wants everyone to tell the truth and Liam doesn’t want that.
It ends with the son deciding to confess, with the accident angle. He gets 2 years + probation and Liam gets 1 year for interfering/destroying evidence. The last shot is the whole family canoeing together in like Florida where they have moved after the entire ordeal.
Was it really bad? Oh yes. Was it worth the watch? Also yes. Here are the people you can use this movie for in your next game where they appear:
John Heard (the dad from Home Alone, he could be in a Deep Cut puzzle)
Larry Pine (also Deep Cut puzzle potential)
AND
Fully screamed when he appeared in frame for approximately 5 seconds as someone in the courtroom.
What a find! This is what makes it all worth it. Cannot wait until he comes up again in the puzzle.
Stick with me, I’ll watch this stuff so you don’t have to. Just sit back and see your MovieGrid score improve.