The plight of the actor-turned-director is an unpredictable one. The desire to tell your own story, direct and write or star in it (or sometimes take on all of those roles) is a attractive lure, and can turn out very well. But as Ryan Gosling learned at Cannes earlier this year with "Lost River," ambition, if not matched by execution, can come at a steep critical cost. So credit to Chris Evans for keeping his goals modest with his directorial debut "Before We Go," but unfortunately he can't clear the low bar he sets for himself with this strained romantic drama that struggles desperately to be engaging, charming or relatable.
Things kick off with a pretty decent meet cute: in a rush to grab the last train to Boston from Grand Central Station, Brooke (Alice Eve) drops and breaks her cell in front of busking jazz musician Nick (Chris Evans). She's already gone before he can flag her down, but he gets another shot to return her mobile when, having missed the train,...
