Billy Crystal has always been known for his comedic timing and infectious charm, seamlessly blending humor into even his dramatic roles. So, when his new Apple TV+ miniseries, Before, premiered, expectations were high. Unfortunately, Before falls far short of Crystal’s usual brilliance, delivering a tedious and melodramatic tale that feels like a stretched-out, overly serious version of a Sixth Sense riff.
A Therapist’s Unconventional Journey
Crystal plays Eli, a therapist grappling with the recent suicide of his wife, Lynn (Judith Light). When a troubled foster child, Noah (Jacobi Jupe), enters Eli’s life, the lines between reality and hallucination blur. Noah’s increasingly erratic behavior mirrors Eli’s own past traumas, leading Eli down a dangerous and unorthodox path to help the boy. Along the way, Eli faces skepticism from Noah’s foster mother Denise (Rosie Perez), his attorney Gail (Sakina Jaffrey), and a fellow psychiatrist, Jane (Hope Davis).
Created by Sarah Thorp, Before joins a string of recent Apple shows depicting unconventional grieving processes, following Shrinking (a comedy) and Disclaimer (a revenge drama with a stellar cast). While Before employs jarring visuals – worms crawling under skin, ooze dripping from ceilings, chilling scenes of children near-drowning – the overall tone is unrelentingly bleak. Despite the fantastical elements, the show lacks the dramatic weight to sustain its brooding narrative.
A Wasted Opportunity
While Crystal’s performance is credible, it’s not powerful enough to salvage a tired plot riddled with clichés. The material lacks the comedic wit that graces his best roles, nor does it boast the dramatic depth necessary to convincingly explore Eli’s struggles. The moments that should be emotionally resonant feel forced and unearned. At one point, Eli exclaims to his therapist, “My life has turned into a Dali painting!” While a Mitch from City Slickers might deliver this line with a wink and a grin, here it falls flat. Instead of a punchline, it becomes a symbol of a broken man clinging onto reality.
The miniseries suffers from lack of focus. It stretches its underdeveloped plot across ten half-hour episodes, leaving the finale feeling unsatisfying and rushed. The final resolution to the central mystery is uninteresting, and several other storylines are abandoned altogether.
One brief scene tries to inject some nostalgia by digitally de-aging Crystal and Light to their 1990s selves, highlighting how Before would likely have been better suited as a standalone movie from that era. Instead, its 2023 release feels like a lost opportunity.
Ready to Give it a Shot?
Curious viewers seeking a compelling drama should probably choose a different show. Ultimately, Before is a prime example of a missed opportunity, a void left where Crystal’s charm and potential for engaging storytelling could have shone.