Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

(2007)

Directed by

Sidney Lumet

Review by Todd Plucknett

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is Sidney Lumet’s brilliant film that placed him back in his choice genre of crime-drama. It is a memorable and thrilling film, featuring an astonishing first screenplay by Kelly Masterson. It was a great comeback for Lumet, and it reminds us why he is considered as one of the greatest directors living today.

The film starts out with a bang. The opening botched robbery of a jewelry store is a completely riveting way to start a film, especially when you think that it is going to be the climax of the picture. After seeing his friend Bobby get shot out of the store, Hank Hanson (Ethan Hawke) drives away yelling the name of his brother, Andy (Oscar-winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman), making you either think that it was Andy who was shot, or it was Andy to blame for what just happened.

Andy was in desperate need of money. He wanted to move to Rio with his wife Gina (Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei); he had been using most of his money on drugs, and he had developed an incredible debt to his company. Hank was having serious problems paying child support to his ex-wife (Amy Ryan). Andy then develops the plan for a seemingly perfect, “victimless” robbery. He won’t tell Hank about it until he says that he is in, which is one of the most powerful scenes in the movie and one of the best acted scenes of the year. The two are sitting in Andy’s office, and he pulls out the blueprints of the building. With each word, Hank’s face goes from excitement, to shock, to worry, and eventually to heartbreak because each word confirmed to him that the building that they were going to rob was their parent’s jewelry store that they used to work in themselves. The facial expressions on Hawke in that scene were absolutely perfect.

When the robbery goes terribly wrong, both Andy’s and Hank’s lives start to unravel quickly. The debt could not be paid, the jewelry store situation was an absolute mess, Bobby’s brother-in-law blackmails Hank, and there was a terrible trail leading back to the two brothers. What happens in the second half of the film is very suspenseful and spellbinding in a way. The entire film is shot in a disjointed manner, beginning in the middle and jumping around, showing certain events from different perspectives. It is really fascinating to see the whole thing come together in the end.

Hoffman’s leading performance confirmed that he had the best year of 2007 for any actor. This was his best performance of the year, topping his roles in The Savages and Charlie Wilson’s War. He really dove into this character and succeeded in expressing many different emotions. It was a challenging role, and he nailed it. Hawke was superb as well. He played the only real human. He had human problems, and he was really the only one that reacted the way a normal person would. His character was overwrought nearly all the time, and he was able to turn his character into something special and actually relatable. Albert Finney plays the father decently. He didn’t really have much to do, but the veteran actor comes through in the scenes where he was given the opportunity. Tomei gives good support. There is one particular scene in the car with Hoffman where you really see her brilliant acting come out. Her role was all facial expressions. Rosemary Harris was good as the mother in her smaller role.

This movie is one that will stick with you for a while. It asks some serious moral questions, and the final scenes are very tough to watch and to forget. It isn’t just a crime thriller. It is about two brothers and their father and the strained relationships that exist between them. It is a brilliant character study, and it is a fascinating portrait of life and what drives men to do what they do. It is one of the best films of 2007, and it is one that will linger around in your mind long after the credits are done rolling.

Rating:

# 9 of 2007