Two parents deal with the effects when their son is accused of murdering his girlfriend.Two parents deal with the effects when their son is accused of murdering his girlfriend.Two parents deal with the effects when their son is accused of murdering his girlfriend.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the scene where Meryl Streep enters a court room to appear in front of the grand jury in the front row (in the middle of the frame) sits a young Paul Giamatti as an extra his head turned around to have a look at her.
- GoofsAfter Jake and his girlfriend pull over, their car gets stuck in the snow and the two are unable to drive away. It is unexplained how Jake is able to dive out of the rut alone after his girlfriend's fall if the two could not do the job while working together.
- Quotes
Jacob Ryan: That's juts a bunch of sentimental bullshit.
Carolyn Ryan: Wait, sentimental bullshit
Jacob Ryan: Yeah everyone's parents say that.
Carolyn Ryan: Oh really, and do everyone's parent destroy evidence and lie... to the police?
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: City Hall/The Late Shift/Happy Gilmore (1996)
Featured review
A reasonable but predictable melodrama with bad characters.
In this film, a typical middle-class couple tries to cover up what they think is a homicide, after their son runs away without saying anything. Actors' work is consistent, but characters are so clichéd and annoying that it's hard to like them. Meryl Streep plays the good and naive mother, always in the shadow of her husband in a relationship that seems sexist and artificial. She is the portrait of the obedient housewife who does what the husband wants. I understand that the film is from the nineties, but even then there were other ideas about the role of women in the family. Liam Neeson is an impulsive and even violent father, whom its almost impossible to like, even though he shows that he likes his son and tries to protect him. Finally, Edward Furlong plays the teenager in revolt at who bad things happen, the idiot who dated a promiscuous girl who slept with anyone who appeared without pants in front of her. Ah, I almost forgot Alfred Molina, who played a lawyer who would be better off selling vacuum cleaners than in a courtroom. In short, it's a deep and engaging melodrama, but it makes the mistake of being totally predictable, like a TV movie.
- filipemanuelneto
- Oct 14, 2017
- Permalink
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $35,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $8,797,839
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,023,815
- Feb 25, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $8,797,839
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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