Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)
Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Written by: Kelly Masterson
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, Albert Finney

In watching “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” you can’t help but get the feel of a Greek tragedy, so much so that you might be tempted to call it “Cassandra’s Dream.” It’s ironic that the two stories follow similar scenarios and similar fates as they both made their US theatrical debuts in the same month. Given that they come from two of the country’s classic directors, Sidney Lumet and Woody Allen respectively, just seems to continue the underlying coincidental themes.

“Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” follows the consequences of a botched jewelers store robbery, turned murder. It’s played out non-chronologically. After a scene of heated sex between Philip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei (doing it doggie style no less), we get straight down to the robbery. The robber and female store owner left dead, the getaway driver speeds away. It’s not until the subsequent flashbacks that we learn what happened.

Andy (Hoffman) and Hank (Ethan Hawke) are brothers. They’ve each got their own troubles. Hank’s is the simpler of the two, a child support package and rent he’s falling heavily behind upon. Given his insecure personality however, it’s a heavy burden to carry. The elder Andy is the real screw up. He’s not exactly satisfying his wife in the sack, has a cocaine/heroin habit and is embezzling large sums of money from his corporate position. He figures that if he and his wife (Tomei) can disappear to Rio, the setting for the movie’s passionate opening, everything will be fine. The plan’s pretty simple: knock over a local mom and pops jewelers, the owners collect the insurance, no one gets hurt. It just happens to be that the mom and pop are Andy and Hank’s actual mom and pop. The job should be easy because they know the store inside out, but when Hank enlists the help of a local hood, things turn sour.

After such a heavy opening, where could the movie go from there? A little bit backwards, a little bit forwards as motives and characters are explored and the claustrophobic noose grows tighter. Segments are told from different perspectives, Andy’s, Hank’s and Dad’s (Albert Finney). In several circumstances they overlap, showing the same story from differing angles. Not only do the brothers not have the money to resolve their respective issues, they’re having to deal with responsibility for their own mother’s death and new, bigger consequences start to come out of the woodwork. It’s a little contrived but it certainly makes for interesting viewing. Did I mention that Andy’s wife just happens to be sleeping with Hank on Thursday’s?

The key characters are pretty well developed. Most of the attention goes to Andy. He’s the chief instigator, the manipulator and the one with the most extreme character flaws. Hoffman plays him exceptionally well, but then what would you expect from one of Hollywood’s most talented and most underrated acts. Hawke does a decent job with Hank, but his character is a little one-dimensional. When I’m making a comparison to “Cassandra’s Dream” I can’t help but think about how Colin Farrell played the weaker brother so well in that movie. He was anxious and neurotic in a way that was comic and believable. Hawke doesn’t do anything wrong here, but it just seems that his character could have been a little more imaginatively written. Tomei does a fine job too, capturing a great deal of emotion as the confused girl in the middle. Those who enjoyed her nude scenes in last year’s “The Wrestler” might want to check this one out too. And while Albert Finney is a strong name to play the father, it’s a shame that his role was under explored. There’s an animosity between Andy and Pop which is never explained. Andy blames all his inadequacies on Pop, but we never know why.

The storyline, consequences and feel of “Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead” are all very well composed. It’s amazing to think that Sidney Lumet has been around since “12 Angry Men” in 1957 and is still putting up solid efforts in his 80’s. He adds some nice touches of flair here with shaky scene transitions. I did have a slight problem with the backwards storytelling however because I don’t feel that the movie justified it, other than for the sake of creativity.

I have minor complaints about “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” and certainly don’t agree with the inflated critic ratings (according to metacritic.com the critics give this 88% - “universal acclaim”). Of the two movies, I’d actually favor “Cassandra’s Dream.” But this one is certainly a solid and entertaining effort.

Verdict: 3 ½ Stars Recommended

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age