Home Before Dark

Standing on the brink of womanhood during the Kennedy years, a young Catholic girl struggles to create a sense of normalcy amidst the tumult of her confusing family life. Though she is only 12, Nora (Stephanie Castellarin) has been forced to grow up quickly due to her mother’s mental instability (the result of having lost her three previous children in an auto accident) and her well-meaning father’s inability to cope with her and her two younger siblings. Shortly after her mother attempts suicide, Nora finds herself shuffled between her home and that of her prim and emotionally distant aunt (Katharine Ross). Though it could easily have been made as a soggy melodrama, director/writer Maureen Foley has kept the film on an even, realistic level that only serves to increase its emotional impact., A girl’s family falls apart after her mother (Patricia Kalember) attempts suicide in 1963 Massachusetts. Nora: Stephanie Castellarin. Rose: Katharine Ross. Martin: Brian Delate.