Naman Shrestha
Under the direction of Jason Bourque, Lifetime’s ‘Before Your Father Finds Us‘ is a thriller drama film that revolves around a strong and resilient woman named Sophia who testifies against her former husband, Mason, a criminal with a military background. As she and her daughter, Emily, are forced into witness protection, they manage to start afresh and lead a normal life for several years. It all changed when Mason escaped from his maximum security prison.
Scared for her and her daughter’s safety, Sophia is forced to tell her teenage daughter the truth about her father and his past. Hoping to stay away from his clutches, the two move into an isolated cabin in the woods as the mother does everything in her power to prevent Mason from harming them. Whether it is a violent partner or the past coming back to haunt someone, both realistic motifs drive the narrative forward, making the tale seem authentic.
The Spiritual Elements in Before Your Father Finds Us Was Added by the Director
In addition to donning the director’s hat, Jason Bourque also helped pen the script for Before Your Father Finds Us with Julie Auerbach. As far as the screenplay’s inception is concerned, the former instilled the spiritual element in the protagonist and the narrative. The writer-director, Jason, elaborated on the same in the ‘Heart in Motion’ podcast. He revealed, “When I came on, it actually didn’t have that spiritual element that Lifetime was looking for. So, I brought that into it as well as just fleshing out the voices of the characters, fleshing out the arcs. But yeah, it’s an interesting mix, like having the spiritual element and then we had the thriller and a little bit more action than what you would expect.”
In the same interview, he elaborated, “…It’s very much about, uh, there’s very much a sense of community as well with the ending that we have, which I think is quite powerful.” Besides being powerful, the sense of community portrayed in the film is also grounded in reality. As for the spiritual aspect of the tale, it actually adds a layer of authenticity as people find strength and hope through religion in tough times. On the screen, the protagonist also resorts to her spiritual beliefs in order to tackle the life-threatening situation involving her ex-husband.
The Case of Lea Garafalo Bears Several Similarities to Sophia’s
In the 2000s, a chillingly similar case to that of Sophia’s in ‘Before Your Father Finds Us’ is the high-profile case of Lea Garofalo. Just like the protagonist, she too entered the witness program in 2006 after she had testified against her husband, Carlo Cosco, who was an Italian mobster. Lea then moved into a house outside Calabria along with her daughter, Denise. Carlo reportedly hired a henchman to kill Lea, who managed to fight off the attack bravely. Several months later, Carlo convinced her to visit him in Milan with Denise by telling her that they would talk about their daughter’s university studies.
After accepting a dinner invitation from Carlo, she was abducted and taken to a secluded warehouse near Monza, where a couple of his brothers murdered her after torturing her. Many aspects of Lea’s journey and fight for survival against her husband are quite similar to what Sophia goes through in the narrative. The case also served as the inspiration for a movie titled ‘Lea – Something About Me,’ which follows the namesake protagonist as she chooses to cooperate with the police in order to give her daughter a better life. All in all, Sophia’s character and her fight for survival might be a work of fiction, but they are somewhat grounded in reality.
Read More: Before Your Father Finds Us: Filming Locations and Cast Details
