Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Before You Go (2001)
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A tale of a mother's death, and the disinterment of childhood conflicts by the three daughters who return home to bury her, should be rich with sibling rivalry, unspoken resentment, false memories. So why doesn't this well-cast adaptation of Shelagh Stephenson's play The Memory of Water come off? Middle-aged Teresa (Walters with echoes of 'Mrs Mop' familiar from TV) is a comically tragic put-upon doormat. Whalley, meanwhile, is pretty convincing as thirty-something career girl Mary, trying to come to terms with a past that still haunts her in the shape of ghost mum Patricia Hodge. Hamilton, however, as the joint-smoking, self-obsessed youngest sister is merely irritating. The trouble lies with the pace and Stephenson's own script, where any opportunity for emotional depth is lost in a succession of set pieces and trite one-liners. It's hard to believe, watching this, that Gilbert once directed Alfie, Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine.Author: JFu
Cast & crew
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Producer: Eoin O'Callaghan
Cast: Julie Walters, John Hannah, Joanne Whalley, Victoria Hamilton, Patricia Hodge, Tom Wilkinson, Hugh Ross, Dermot Crowley, Eoin O'Callaghan full cast
Duration: 95 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing






What do you think?
Post your review now