Before You Know It (2019 film)


Before You Know It is a 2019 American comedy film directed by Hannah Pearl Utt. It was screened in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

Plot

The film centres on a dysfunctional and codependent family who are struggling to maintain the family business, a small community theatre in New York City. Patriarch Mel is a failed playwright; his daughter Jackie is a quirky actress stuck in perennial adolescence despite being mother to teenage daughter Dodge ; his daughter Rachel is a business-minded lesbian whose attempts to be the responsible member of the family have made her something of a control freak.
After Mel self-sabotages a career opportunity that Rachel has lined up for him, her angry outburst causes him to have a fatal heart attack, which leads to the discovery that he had lied to her and Jackie for much of their lives about the identity and death of their mother; their real mother is in fact soap opera actress Sherrell, who has been left ownership of the theatre and the family home in Mel's will.

Cast

Before You Know It holds a 83% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 41 reviews, with an average score of 7.04/10.
Beandrea July of The Hollywood Reporter writes, “A strong debut that pushes the boundaries of what movies made from the female gaze can mean to audiences of all kinds...engrossing and entertaining." Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com writes, “A refreshing comedy...not afraid to be silly or tender."