Spectacularly dark and absorbing
From legendary director Sidney Lumet comes Before the Devil Knows You're Dead; a dark, bleak, and absorbing tale of a family that borderlines on Greek tragedy. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as Andy, a desperate and drug raddled payroll executive who convinces his cash-strapped brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) to pull off what could be the perfect crime. The crime is knocking off a mom and pop jewelry store, that just so happens to be run by their actual parents (Albert Finney and Rosemarry Harris). That's what makes it perfect: mom and dad get taken care of via insurance, and Andy and Hank's money problems are taken care of. However, things don't go as planned, and quickly spiral out of control, leading to a climax that you may not see coming. Though the script from Kelly Masterson tends to rely a little heavily on the whole "repeat scenes from different perspectives", it works very well in Lumet's hands, and the work from the cast is nothing short of superb. Hoffman, Hawke, and Finney are wonderful and magnetic, while Marisa Tomei delivers a sympathetic performance as Andy's long suffering wife. Even relatively minor roles from Michael Shannon, Brian F. O'Byrne, and Amy Ryan manage to be memorable. All in all, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a spectacularly dark and absorbing film from the legendary Sidney Lumet that deserves your attention.

Testing the boundaries of family loyalty...
Andy Hanson has a plan. He and his brother Hank are both in financial trouble; Hank has a daughter to provide for, and Andy has some accounts he needs to settle at his firm. The solution: Rob a mom and pop jewelry store. Not just ANY mom and pop jewelry store, however--the jewelry store owned by Andy and Hank's parents. It's the perfect crime: they know the layout of the place, they know who works and when...what could go wrong?

A lot.

Philip Seymour Hoffman proves once again that he is one of the best actors in Hollywood today, plain and simple. He oozes greaseball charm. Ethan Hawke reeled me right in--amazing, considering I've never been a big fan of his. Albert Finney is a wonder to behold. Rosemary Harris and Amy Ryan (who, let's be honest, plays one of the best b****es in town) are both greatly underused, which is one of this movie's two main flaws.

The other flaw? The transition between scenes gets old fast. The movie jumps back and forth through time--not an astounding concept, and we can put up with it if it's done correctly. But here, it just seems a bit forced. Smoother transitions would have been prefered, definitely.

Still...the writing is sharp, and Sidney Lumet's directing is dead-on. With superb casting, a brilliant script, and a unique and interesting plot, BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD is one of the must-see movies out there. See it and be moved.

Touching on Greek tragedy
Mr Lumet is an actor's director and creates films that are worthy of repeated viewings over a number of years - this latest film joins the honoured company of THE VERDICT, PRINCE OF THE CITY and TWELVE ANGRY MEN as a great film experience. I have not seen Ethan Hawke more effective as he is in playing the brother of Mr Hoffman. And all the other actors are outstanding. Mr Hoffman adds another character to his formidable list and seems destined to be counted among the greatest in the art's history - joining the likes of Albert Finney, Marlon Brando and the like. A film that manages a pitch perfect tone of impending doom of Greek tragic proportions excepting that it is concerned with fools rather than Kings and Queens. A rivetting experience.

Huge Disappointment
Warning: Review full of spoilers


I am a huge admirer of Sidney Lumet's work, and I had heard great things about this film. But I was severely disappointed.

Here are some of the problems with the film:


1. The pace of the film is very slow.

2. The flash back/ flash forward technique was not needed in this film. I think it would have been richer if it had been made in a linear fashion. This would have made the pace a bit faster, and also would have allowed more time to have Andy convince Hank to do the robbery. This was done quickly and not convincingly.

3. There is not a single likable character in this film. They are all horrible themselves and to each other. Even with a hugely talented actor like Philip Seymour Hoffman portraying a tortured soul, emotionally abused by his father; I felt no sympathy for him.

Watching this film, I got the feeling that it got derailed at some point. The premise, actors, director, were all good. It could have been a powerful and heart-wrenching depiction of a totally dysfunctional family. It tried to be this, but it just failed. Too dark and depressing. Too slow and distant.

I gave it 2 stars for the strong performances by Hoffman, Hawke, Tomei and Finney. If you like any of them, you can watch this film to see their talent, but don't expect much from the film.

Desperation Begets More Desperation, and Then Some.
"May you be in heaven half an hour...before the Devil knows you're dead." Thus begins the 45th film of Sidney Lumet's 60-year directing career, a New York crime drama with an intimate feel and a gamut of emotions. Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is an upper-middle class executive living beyond his means. His brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) is a working class divorcé with burdensome child support payments. They both need money in a hurry. The cooler Andy cajoles the malleable Hank into robbing their parents suburban jewelry store. And one disaster leads to another.

"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" shows us the robbery first, then jumps back in time to what led to it. The mystery is not who committed the crime, but why. We see the days leading up to the robbery more than once, but nothing is actually repeated, as we are seeing events from different perspectives. Then it is forward in time, to the aftermath. The story is told through conversations in closed spaces, which create an accelerating sense of the world caving in on Andy and Hank, a downward spiral from which they try to escape with increasing desperation.

Sidney Lumet was quick to label this film a "melodrama", and if viewers take it any other way, credibility will be strained. People tend to think of melodrama as something that goes over the top, leaving the audience either laughing or dozing off out of incredulity. That's melodrama done badly. I'm a huge fan of the crime thrillers and murder dramas of the 1940s that came to be known as "film noir". They're about extremes of behavior. Pure melodrama. They succeeded because they were introverted, and the actors emoted as little as possible. They barely moved their facial muscles.

Ever since more histrionic styles of acting came into fashion in the 1970s, melodrama has been a risky undertaking. Bizarre behavior and emoting are a dicey combination. Performances can easily slip into the realm of the ridiculous. This happens a few times in "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead", but the mundanity always overcomes the melodrama. The film grounds itself in constant reminders of just how mundane it all is. The score and all the little middle class details tell us how ordinary these lives are, even as they are flipping out. So we can enjoy the fireworks without questioning the behavior.

The DVD (ThinkFilm 2008): There is a featurette, a theatrical trailer, and an audio commentary. '"Directed by Sidney Lumet: How the Devil Was Made" (24 min) interviews Sidney Lumet, actors Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, and Marisa Tomei, and producers Michael Cerenzie and Brian Linse, about the script, melodrama, Lumet's directing style and rehearsal process. The feature commentary is with Sidney Lumet, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Ethan Hawke. In a friendly tone, they discuss shooting in HD, working with familiar New York actors, casting, and provide some scene-by-scene commentary. Subtitles are available for the film in English SDH and Spanish.