That Was Then... This Is Now (1985)

That Was Then... This Is Now has the bruised, lived-in authenticity of a coming-of-age drama that doesn’t romanticize rebellion so much as listen to it, closely and without blinking. Emilio Estevez and Craig Sheffer give the kind of raw, restless performances that make you feel the push-pull of loyalty and abandonment in your gut, while Morgan Freeman brings a steady gravity that deepens the film’s moral weather. The direction leans into a moody, street-level atmosphere—equal parts tenderness and trouble—so even quiet moments hum with consequence. It’s not a glossy teen movie and it can be bleak, but if you want an insightful, emotionally charged snapshot of youth teetering between connection and collapse, this one stays with you.

That Was Then... This Is Now is clearly aiming for a gritty, heartfelt coming-of-age tragedy about loyalty curdling into jealousy and self-destruction, and on paper it has the ingredients for real punch. The problem is the film often feels thin and oddly softened, rushing through key emotional turns and sanding down the darker themes that made the story hit harder in its original form. If you’re coming in as an S.E. Hinton fan, the omissions and the altered setting/time period can make it feel like a diluted, less satisfying version, capped by an ending that may leave you more frustrated than moved. Still, there are moments of sincerity in the central friendship and a few solid performances, so it can work as a modest teen drama—just don’t expect the depth or impact of the stronger Hinton adaptations.