Before The Devil Knows You're Dead Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
No one was supposed to get hurt.
Loyalty. It's all relative.
Needing extra cash, two brothers conspire to pull off the perfect, victimless crime. No guns, no violence, no problem. But when an accomplice ignores the rules and crosses the line, his actions trigger a series of events in which no one is left unscathed.
| Philip Seymour Hoffman | Andy |
| Ethan Hawke | Hank |
| Albert Finney | Charles |
| Marisa Tomei | Gina |
| Rosemary Harris | Nanette |
| Aleksa Palladino | Chris |
| Michael Shannon | Dex |
| Amy Ryan | Martha |
| Brian F. O'Byrne | Bobby |
| Blaine Horton | Justin |
| Arija Bareikis | Katherine |
| Leonardo Cimino | William |
| Lee Wilkof | Jake |
| Damon Gupton | Doctor |
| Adrian Martinez | Security Guard |
| Sidney Lumet |
8.10 out of 10 (1539 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Pearls Before Swine
posted on 20 Aug 2009On a superficial level this is Fargo without the snow; in both films a protagonist strapped for cash sees a crime against the family as an easy and harmless way out and in both films something that should be relatively straightforward spirals out of control and tragedy ensues. The family here makes The House Of Atreus seem like The Little House On The Prairie with a final scorecard that sees one brother sleeping with the other's wife, the two brothers killing their mother, albeit by default and the father killing his eldest son, with three other killings thrown in for good measure. It's well acted if you don't count Albert Finny who has somehow built a career out of being a so-so actor and well written and Sydney Lumet keeps it flowing albeit non-lineally. Might be a tad overpraised but certainly worth seeing.
Anything could go wrong, went wrong...
posted on 18 Aug 2009Sidney Lumet's depressing tale of 2 dysfunctional brother's attempt at crime down spiraling into the black hole of desperation and disaster, send your emotion from shock, disgust, bewilderment all the way to utter resentment and disbelief.Impeccably played by Philip Seymour Huffman and Ethan Hawk, the on screen duo immediately drew you into the bizarre and surreal world of trouble. From then on, you got to witness the two weeks worth of life events unfolding in front of you, told not by chronological order, rather layer by layer in order of emotional intensity. You were often presented with the most explosive segment of a key event, followed by back tracking of what led up to that moment. It's a great way to get audience's attention and keep them alert and thinking.The subject matter is harsh and rather difficult to deal with. It is this level of discomfort that challenges you to relate your own life to that of on the screen. Though I believe not that many people could have had such dramatic event in their life (hopefully not!), nevertheless, you can still find yourself relate to the state of minds of the characters.I have to warn you though, this is a movie that nobody in it wins, it is depressing to the core. But as a movie, it is masterfully shot and perfectly casted. The characters are so believable, that there are times the sense of tension and despair just overwhelms you. For those who smokes (though I don't), you may find yourself compelled to take couple of cigarette breaks during the whole viewing. It is almost too emotionally draining to watch the whole thing in one sitting.The music use is kept to a minimum, and it remains to be very effective in building up intensity in key moments. I noticed the kind of music style is very old school, using repetition of simple tune with increasing tempo. It serves well to aggravates you and draw out the sense of panic and disorder.I do have a couple of minor complaints in terms of obvious plot hole in ending and overall tune of the movie. I won't comment much on the plot hole as it will spoil the plot. The overall tune of the movie is overly dark with little to no sense of redeeming value to be ever found in any of the characters. As I commented earlier, in this movie, nobody wins. It pits the audience against the great odds of involuntary evil, men of great weaknesses that do stupid things. It like looking at a masterfully painted picture depicting something truly ugly and pathetic. A fine piece of movie art it is, but offers very little enjoyment. I found certain imagery to be very disturbing and distasteful, especially the ones depicting Huffman's naked body and prolonged shots that followed him in the den of a drug dealer. A fine actor he is, I just can't stand his mannerism. I guess he's still somehow trapped in Capote's ghost, or maybe that's just how he is.
A Great Film
posted on 06 Aug 2009This is the best movie Sidney Lumet has directed in 20 years, bar none ("The Verdict" predates this period). Second, some actors, regardless of alleged structural flaws in the film at large, provide such rich performances that any flaws in the film become secondary. Phillip Seymour Hoffman provides just such a performance. Not just during some moments of the film, but all of them. It is far more nuanced and complex than anything he has done previously, and towers over his work in"Capote". Further, and contrary to the above reviewer's sentiments, (ah, the plight of the film student) the film does not suffer from a lack of information, and is in no need of a linear narrative. Indeed, a linear format would have lent much less suspense to the film, and arguably would have made the film far more pedestrian. True psychological drama leaves the most profound aspects of one's past to the imagination of the viewer (and why that must be the case--as opposed to a romantic film--is beyond the scope of this commentary). Thus, there was nothing "cute" about using flashbacks. Unless one wanted to do the film from a narrative that utilized multiple view points--which would have made the film even more ponderous than a linear narrative-this was the best structural avenue one could have taken. Given that the characters paint the picture of the past through the present, there was no need whatsoever to have further explanation about how the father conducted himself as a father. After all, in the end, does it matter? What is clear is that the oldest son experienced (italics) a lack of love and familial subordination of his needs to his brother. This was allegedly engendered by the parents. That perspective forged the son's self-hatred and ultimately, provides the viewer with all the explanation that is needed as to his own motivations. We don't have to have it spoon fed--do we? In sum: SEE THIS FILM
Loved it. Gritty and satisfying.
posted on 29 Jul 2009I am a fan of PSH and Ethan Hawke. I enjoyed watching PSH in the 25th Hour (one of my fave films) especially.The film is pretty simple. Ethan and PSH need money. They are brothers. Ethan the less successful who owes his ex wife child support. PSH has a hefty heroin addiction and is clearly lacking in any sort of self esteem. This makes him arrogant, nasty and completely compelling to watch.The brothers decide to rob their parents jewellery store. Simple - no risk, no guns, no harm to anyone and their parents will be protected by the insurers. Unfortunately nothing quite goes to plan. There is tragedy which leads to one miss fortune after another.I don't want to give too much away. Its a great story which unfolds effortlessly. The moral being - if you do bad then it will catch up on you in every way possible.The film is shot slightly differently from others. There is multiple point of view cuts. For instance, you will see PSH's view on things 4 days before the robbery, Ethans point of view 1 day after it etc. I liked this. It lags a tiny bit later on in the film but overall works very well.PSH and Ethan Hawke both turn in excellent performances in this film. I would like to think PSH was at least considered for a nod at the Oscars here. I don't think it is the best lead I have saw this year but he should have been at least considered (Im sure he will get best supporting for Charlie Wilsons War, another excellent film).Overall I loved it. The film has closure too. This is a relief in a world of films where it seems to be trendy to leave you hanging to interpret your own ending. One thing though - the film is about getting your comeuppance. *****SPOILER****** - Ethan Hawke gets away with it in the end. PSH doesn't. I just cant help thinking that if they were both punished then it would have made for an even darker, grittier ending. Maybe Ethan wasn't as responsible for his mothers death though. He was desperate and never planned it I suppose.Anyway, excellent film. Go see it, enjoy it. Tell your friends.8/10 This is surely an Oscar contender this
Good... Not Great
posted on 25 Jul 2009The pointless opening scene took me out of the film and I didn't come back for a while. It really should have been left on the cutting room floor. The filmmakers wanted the audience to know they were in for a wild ride but there were so many better choices to get there.Hoffman, Hawk, Finney, and the talented Michael Shannon all do a very fine job in this seedy crime caper about a crime gone wrong. I also liked that not all the loose ends were tied up.Lumet is one of the finest directors of all time. Do not expect a "Dog Day Afternoon" or "Network" type outing here, and you may enjoy this gritty little film.
Treads familiar ground but does it with grand, depressing intensity and fantastic style
posted on 25 Jul 2009I am beginning to see a very consistent pattern form in the identity of 2007's films. If 2004 was the year of the biographies and 2005 was the year of the political films, 2007 can be identified as a year featuring a wide plethora of morality tales, films that portray, test, challenge and question human morality and the motives that drive us to do certain things. Although this identification is rather broad, I think that there are a handful of films released this year, such as 3:10 To Yuma, Eastern Promises, American Gangster, No Country for Old Men and others that specifically question and study human morals and the motives that drive us to acts such as violence or treachery. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a deviously stylish morality tale, and quite a dark, bleak and depressing one at that. And even better is the fact that it comes from one of the greatest classic directorial forces of our time, the legendary Sidney Lumet, who many have said has passed his prime but returns in full force with this viciously rich crime thriller.It's one of those films whose plots are so thick, that one is very reluctant to go into details. It is a movie that is best enjoyed if entered without any prior knowledge to the events about to unfold, as there are twists and turns. But the thick and richly wrought plot is not at all at the center of this film; the true focus is, as I mentioned, the morality tale; the motives that drive these two men to the actions they do in the film. In a plot structured like a combination between the filmographies of both The Coen Brothers (namely Blood Simple and Fargo) and Quentin Tarantino, we see two men driven under various shady circumstances to pull off a fairly simple crime that goes incredibly, ridiculously wrong, and reciprocates with full force and inevitable tragedy. And to make it all the more interesting, the film is told in a fragmented chronology that keeps back tracking and showing a series of events following a different character every time and always ending up where it left off the last time. Sizzling, sharp, thick and precariously depressing, Kelly Masterson's screenplay is surprisingly poignant and well rounded, in particular because it is a debut screenplay.But the film has much more going for it than just it's delectably sinister and quite depressing plot. First and foremost, the picture looks and feels outstandingly well. Sidney Lumet has, throughout his career, consistently employed an interesting style of cinematography and lighting: naturalistic and yet stylish at the same time. The film carries with it a distinctive air of style and class, with wonderful natural lighting that just looks really great. Editing is top-notch; combining the sizzling drama-thriller aspect with great long takes that really take their time to portray the action accordingly. And vivid, dynamic camera angles and movements further add to the style. The film is also backed by a fantastically succulent musical score by Carter Burwell.The screenplay does its part, and of course Lumet does his part, but at the film's dramatic center are three masterful actors who deliver incredibly good performances. First and foremost, there are the two leads. Leading the pack is Philip Seymour Hoffman, who has always been an excellent actor but has stumbled upon newfound leading-man status after his unnaturally fantastic Oscar-winning performance in Capote. His turn in this film is fascinating: severely flawed, broken, manic. Hoffman has some truly intense scenes in the film that really allow his full dramatic fury to come out, and not just his subtlety and wit. At his side is Ethan Hawke, who has delivered some fantastic performances in many films that are almost always overshadowed by greater, grander actors. Here, he bounces off Hoffman and complements him so incredibly well; in all, the dynamic acting between the two of them is just so utterly fantastic and convincing, the audience very quickly loses itself in the characters and forgets that it's watching actors. And then there's Albert Finney. Such a supple, opulent supporting role like the one he has requires a veteran professional and here Finney delivers his finest performance in many years as the tragically obsessed father to the two brothers who get caught up in the crime. I love how the dynamics between the three of them play out. I love how Hoffman is clearly the dominant brother and shamelessly picks on his younger brother even now that they're middle-aged men; and yet despite this, it is clear how Finney's father favours Hawke's younger, weaker brother. Also on the topic of the cast, the two supporting female characters – wives of the brothers – also feature fantastic performances from Amy Ryan and Marisa Tomei, whose looks just get better and better as the years go by.This film isn't revolutionary. These themes and this style have already been explored by the likes of The Coen Brothers, and it's very easy to imagine them directing this film. But for a film that treads familiar ground, it simply excels. Lumet employs his own immense directorial talent and employs his unique and very subtle sense of irony and style to Masterson's brilliantly vivid, intense, and morbidly depressing first-time screenplay. The lead performances are incredibly intense and the film features absolutely fantastic turns from Hoffman, Hawke and Finney; but the truly greatest wonder of the film is that three years after he won a Lifetime Achievement Oscar, much revered as the ultimate sign of retirement in the film business, Sidney Lumet proves that he still has the immense talent to deliver a truly wonderful, resonant, intense piece of cinema reminiscent of his golden years.
A real Hit for the "hit and miss" Lumet
posted on 21 Jul 2009I know what you're thinking- Sydney Lumet has made some very good films and some real turds in the last 40 years and now that he approaches his 149th birthday how can he possibly compete with the directors and story tellers of today?? Tha answer is simple he hires real talent over Hollywood hyped stars even using great casting in the smaller roles giving this film a genuine look from suburbs to urban scum. His expertise and experience of a strong script makes Lumet stand out as a still great director. This film though gritty was wonderful. While it is much seedier it none the less in my mind compares to Haggis' Crash of last year.The Story: Two emotionally troubled brothers (each with their own financial troubles) plan to hold up a jewelry store with a toy gun- but when the bullets go off things go from bad to worse to down right gut wrenchingly uncomfortable for the brothers and their families. This is a masterpiece- not that crap from the Cohen brothers released the same month. The performances in this film are spell binding- Hoffman and Finney can do no wrong in my eyes but I haven't enjoyed a performance from Ethan Hawke since Dead Poets Society which makes this almost spiritual in its' resurrection of Ethan Hawke the actor. by the way- I never knew Marissa Tomei had such nice breasts and frankly she was pretty good in her role as conniving yet sad wife of Phillip Seymore Hoffman. There have been only a hand full of films in the last three months worth seeing and by far this is one of the best. It gives the viewer a chance to forget about CGI effects and over the top evil geniuses for characters and returns to movie basics: Story, acting and set design/ lighting. A must see for movie fans!!
"The world is an evil place…some of us make money off of that, and others get destroyed"
posted on 19 Jul 2009Sidney Lumet, I certainly know pretty well the name and the name of those of his important films. I own some of his films, 4 to be exact, 4 before Before the Devil Knows You're Dead that was just my third experience with a Lumet film. Many claim that this 2007 film is one of the very best Lumet films, I only can say it is a really terrific picture. So this film has a conventional premise, two men who are not criminals will steal a jewelry store and everything will went wrong. So it begins, we see the robbery and we will see what happened to the involved persons before, during and after the day of the robbery. We have those two men as our main characters certainly, these men need money, I think Lumet made a great move when he decided that these two men, Andy and Hank, would be not friends but brothers (the original screenplay was written by Kelly Masterson). The film is extremely engaging, the structure is perfect to make this even more interesting and engaging, it is actually a quite complex film. All will be in family, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the older brother Andy and Ethan Hawke plays Hank. For Hank is quite a surprise that Andy is planning a robbery to the jewelry store of their parents for obvious reasons but also because Andy is the brother with a good job, good pay and who apparently is okay. Andy comes with the plan and he needs someone, actually he will not go to the store, and he knows that basically his brother is easy to convince, Hank is the one divorced, with a daughter, child support, the school, the rent, a lover. Sexy Marisa Tomei is Gina, the wife of Andy, apparently just a minor character, well she is since not in most of the film we see her yet she is an important character who will lead us to a tense scene between the brothers but also who is there all the time when you think in the stuff that could happened. Hank wants that Gina become his wife, he loves her. Marisa Tomei gives an extraordinary performance (Lumet reveals in the 20+ minutes documentary from the DVD that he considers the acting of the scene in which both Andy and Gina are inside their parked car, after Andy talked with his father, as one of the very best he has been ever involved and certainly he remarks that he has been involved in some pretty good ones) and very sexy. So as I said this is all in family, I think was better that Nanette (Rosemary Harris), mother of Andy and Hank, passed away without knowing the fact that her two kids were the ones behind the robbery in which she was shoot. Certainly both Andy and Hank were thinking that the robbery was going to be a victimless one, the secure help their parents, no one of their parents was going to be working at the time of the robbery, everything is just fine and they end with some dollars in their pockets. At one point we will follow Andy and Hank's father, Charles (played by Albert Finney – since Big Fish I never saw him again until here and he simply gives another very remarkable work). We certainly could imagine how the relation between both Andy and Hank and Charles may be and certainly we would not be far from the truth, after all Chico and Groucho (Oscar-nominated, for the film Revolutionary Road, Michael Shannon is Dex who will call Hank Chico and Andy Groucho and who confirms that in this film everything is in family. I saw Shannon twice in a couple of days) did what they did. I will stop here, just add this: watch this film, see how great Hoffman and Hawke can be (masterful performances), enjoy yourselves.
The World Is an Evil Place
posted on 19 Jul 2009In New York, Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is an addicted executive of a real estate office that has embezzled a large amount for his addiction and expensive way of life with his wife Gina (Marisa Tomei). When an audit is scheduled in his department, he becomes desperate for money. His baby brother Hank Hanson (Ethan Hawke) is a complete loser that owes three months of child support to his daughter, and is having a love affair with Gina every Thursday afternoon. Andy plots a heist of the jewelry of their parent in a Saturday morning without the use of guns, expecting to find an old employee working and without financial damage to his parents, since the insurance company would reimburse the loss. On Monday morning, we would raise the necessary money he needs to cover his embezzlement. He invites Hank to participate, since he is very well known in the mall where the jewelry is located and could be recognized. However, Hank yellows and invites the thief Bobby Lasorda (Brian F. O'Byrne) to steal the store, but things go wrong when their mother Nanette (Rosemary Harris) comes to work as the substitute for the clerk and Bobby brings a hidden gun. Nanette reacts and kills Bobby but she is also lethally shot. After the death of Nanette, their father Charles Hanson (Albert Finney) decides to investigate the robbery with tragic consequences."Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" is a comedy of errors, disclosing a good story. The originality and the difference are in the screenplay, with a non-linear narrative à la "Pulp Fiction". The eighty-three year-old Sidney Lumet has another great work and it is impressive the longevity of this director. Philip Seymour Hoffman is awesome in the role of a dysfunctional man with traumatic relationship with his father that feels the world falling apart mostly because of his insecure and clumsy brother. Marisa Tomei is still impressively gorgeous and sexy, showing a magnificent body. The violent conclusion shows that the world is indeed an evil place. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Antes Que o Diabo Saiba Que Você Está Morto" ("Before the Devil Knows You're Dead")
A perfect waste of time
posted on 17 Jul 2009After seeing good user comments and high rating on IMDb, i decided to watch this film yesterday but I am really regretting my decision. The element of thrill and mystery was almost non-existent, the plot was weak and I couldn't empathise with any of the characters - I am not saying that the acting was bad, but the movie simply failed to develop any feelings of sympathy/hate/anger towards any of the characters. I remained indifferent to whatever happened to the characters as I painfully waited for the boring end to eventually dawn upon us - as if it was very difficult to predict it in the first place. The movie has been labelled as thriller/mystery but I failed to see what was so thrilling about it or where was the great mystery - or maybe that in itself was the mystery bit. I am still dazed at how shockingly pathetic the movie was although it has been more than 24 hours since I have watched it. This movie is 123 minutes of mind-numbing boredom and excruciating torture. Avoid it as you would avoid flesh eating zombies.Following are the top 10 reasons why you could still be interested in watching this movie:1. If you are a die hard fan of Sydney Lumet and would love to watch even if he films pooping cows2. If you like dud thrillers and particularly those dud thrillers where the writer goes "Hey I have an awesome idea, lets show the ending right in the beginning and then go through it all over again through a series of highly sedating and annoying flashbacks" 3. If you have a fascination for extremely complicated crime plots that have holes as big as plane hangers and are hatched by characters having IQs between those of rabbit droppings and sleeping toads 4. If you want to experience how does it feel like to watch a 10 minute story line being mercilessly extended into a full length movie 5. If you are fond of unexpected breast flashing and gratuitous sex scenes 6. If you are fond of unexpected breast flashing and gratuitous sex scenes that involve Marisa Tomei 7. If you are either a masochist and take pleasure in self torture or you are a nihilist and want to see how evil mankind actually is 8. If you are both 9. If you have a fetish for gay drug dealers who wear something similar to a kimono and stash their money in open safe boxes 10. All of the above
I See All The People Who Worked On The Film Are Giving It High Marks!!!
posted on 15 Jul 2009Once again, all the people who worked on the film, had money invested or some other financial or career-oriented axe to grind, have come over and stuffed the ballot box on this one.That's one of the things I hate about IMDb, where you can no longer get a really objective review. First you have all the people associated with the film giving it high marks. Then you have all the twits who have absolutely no life and think that celluloid is the reason for their existence and think that Grindhouse is a work of art......BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Between these two sets of lackwits, how can a normal film fan hope to get an honest review. I wouldn't watch anything with Hoffman in it anyway, as he's basically a flaccid fartknocker and those are a dime a dozen in Hollyweird.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
posted on 09 Jul 2009An excellent crime thriller with a cracking, intelligent script that's only slightly marred by wildly uneven performances and an implausible final act.The fractured narrative works incredibly well. Vast amounts of information are withheld to great effect as the revelations - small and large - come thick and fast. Telling Hank and Andy's stories pretty much separately means that it feels almost like a competition to see who's in worse trouble. Just when we think one of them has hit rock bottom, it's revealed that the other learnt even more bad news that will impact both of them - and it all comes from credible sources. There's no broken down cars or flat cell phone batteries here; everything that befalls them feels realistic yet almost fated.The tension is palpable in just about every scene, helped along by a truly fantastic, immediate score.Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke are either excellent or terrible depending on the scene they're in. both of them vacillate wildly between impressive naturalistic moments and ridiculously affected overacting which at times makes some scenes inadvertently comic. I have no idea what Albert Finney was thinking - he's usually a great actor - but he's horrible here. Marisa Tomei does her usual great work and the quality of her performance is sustained throughout. What's puzzling though is why the script calls for her to be so comic. She feels at times like a character who's wandered in from a different movie. Still, the role is more complex than any of the others and she handles it brilliantly.The final act goes too far over the top and doesn't feel true to the rest of the story, which is a shame. All the other faults are minor but this one really takes the film down a notch or two.Nevertheless this remains a near-great film, and on the occasions when everything is pulling in the same direction it works astonishingly well.
Disappointing
posted on 29 Jun 2009Along with having a very bad title, I was pretty disappointed in this movie. It was beautifully filmed, interesting, and had uniformly great performances, but there just wasn't enough "there" there - when the movie ended, I wondered if that was all the filmmakers had to say: "people suck and then you die." Sheesh! I would have liked, and really expected, more background on the characters, more "back story" as they say, *especially* the women (who were barely more than props), and more interaction among the people. It seemed so sparse, which made it beautiful but unsatisfying.I'm not the sort of person who needs a happy ending, but I expected and wanted more about the life of the family, instead of just watching them all be horrible to each other. I'm not some Pollyanna - I know that people can be evil, and of course dysfunctional people make good drama, but this crowd was a bit much.I don't think it's enough to make a visually appealing movie - the audience needs to be invested in the characters. In this film, the people are kept at a distance - you want to sympathize with them, but your instinct to do so is thwarted by the film's structure.It's just a little too relentlessly dark, almost gratuitously so. It's worth watching because it's a very well made film, but only if you're in a misanthropic mood.
why see this movie if you can have it all for free in the news?
posted on 23 Jun 2009why see this movie if you can have it all for free in the news? Very good acting, but awful script and no story which is worth to tell. save your money and your lifetime. And why the hell is this screwing scene necessary for the plot? the whole story is absolutely far-fetched but I think a good write could have made a script out of it which could be worth watching, but this is not. Think of this: If you are old in many years and the devil knows you are going to die and you ask him to stay just a few minutes longer to talk to you children and beloved wife and he answers that you have used your time for this movie instead of being there for you family, what would you think? Still interesting in watching this sh*t?
Another Masterclass from Hoffman, but otherwise unremarkable
posted on 23 Jun 2009The octogenarian and legendary Sidney Lumet teams up with the increasingly iconic Philip Seymour Hoffman in this crime thriller centred around one family. Two brothers (Hoffman and Ethan Hawke) find themselves in grave financial difficulty. Hawke's younger brother is a screw-up with an ex-wife and child support payments he can't afford. Hoffman's Andy is unfulfilled and his marriage is slowly falling apart. Andy constructs a plan to rob their parents' jewellery store. As it is insured, he believes it to be a victimless crime. The heist goes dreadfully wrong and the family unravels.The film is told in a non-linear fashion, jumping from character to character and back and forth through time. This is, at first, gripping as the plot is gradually set up but towards the end the audience is well ahead of the narrative and the constant cutting back becomes somewhat infuriating. Despite this, the film remains watchable, principally because of Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance.Comfortably supported by Hawke, Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei, Hoffman is able to take this film by the scruff of the neck. Hoffman has the hardest part in this film. Andy is a thoroughly unattractive character at times, but Hoffman manages to drag a lot of sympathy out of him. It is an intense and gripping performance.However the rest of the film isn't as impressive as the performance. This is a perfectly competent film with a number of positives and it is good way to spend a few hours, but it remains somewhat unremarkable on the whole. However, as with almost all of his films, this is worth seeing for the Hoffman performance.
An enigmatic cipher
posted on 17 Jun 2009I watched this film in a very strange way -- I had put it on my Netflix list and couldn't remember why (other than that I knew Philip Seymour Hoffman was in it). Since the film has no opening credits, I couldn't even remember who had directed it.As my wife and I watched it, I turned to her about 45 minutes in and said, "You know, I keep wanting to decide that I hate this film, but something about it just won't let me stop watching it." Then there's a stretch of about half a dozen scenes in the middle of the movie that are truly electrifying in the actors' performances.It was only as the end credits rolled that I realized it was a Sidney Lumet film. And I thought -- wow. I'm surprised that Lumet took on what was really a dirty, petty little story about really mean, broken people. But it's a testament to his talent that I was so taken in when I didn't even realize it was him.Philip Seymour Hoffman is really, really good in this movie. Like scary good. Put this up against Capote and I would argue the Oscar should have been for this film instead.I also highly recommend the narrative special feature with Lumet, Hawke and Hoffman talking about making the movie -- it's entertaining and educational, with Hawke playing the student eager to learn at the master's feet. Lumet definitely teaches you the first rule of working with actors -- kiss their asses constantly!!There are a lot of violent, melodramatic movies out there that are empty ciphers when all is said and done. And there is an element of that in this film -- that the actors fill the air with sulphurous blasts of emotion, and when the smoke clears there's nothing left. Nothing resonates on a deeper level.But Lumet has given us Network and Twelve Angry Men -- films that, each in their own ways, have been elevated into the highest echelons of cinema.This movie isn't at that level. But there's something about it that lingers. And maybe that's enough.My final comment is about the comments -- if you look at the number of comments about this little movie here on IMDb -- and the depth and intelligence of the comments, pro and con -- it's a pretty good indication that something special is going on with this film.
Reservoir Dogs for dad, but still a darn good time for the most part
posted on 17 Jun 2009Quasi-thrilling black caper film manages to provide enough depth, articulation, and powerful acting to stand out as one of the year's stronger movies but does suffer a few missteps which keep it from becoming one of 2007's best. People are right to be praising a some-kind-of-return to form for Sidney Lumet, but the director's old age is starting to show. Beginning with the shamelessly exploitive opening scene, Lumet and screenwriter Kelly Masterson immediately start associating excess for edginess, at times not being able to back up some of the "shock" with substantial characterizations.Nevertheless as viewers continue down this unnecessarily out-of-order robbery mishap, it remains mighty hard not to get wrapped up in these two brother's mostly riveting chemistry. Philip Seymour Hoffman pretty much accounts for quality work simply by showing up, while Ethan Hawke clearly became inspired working around Hoffman and displays some of his most perceptive acting yet. As for Marisa Tomei's constant eye-candy superficiality: what could have been another fascinating angle in the story merely feels stuck in for sex appeal in an underdeveloped role. Flaws and all, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is still a tightly wound robbery flick with commanding performances and occasional excellent direction, which clearly makes the sum of it's parts add up to something special.
Another masterpiece
posted on 15 Jun 2009Another masterpieces by Mr. Sidney Lumet director 83 old able to shot film also in the older age, thing rare...help by a brilliant casting, over all Seymour Hoffmann, Marisa Tomei and Albert Finney, Lumet build a perfect thriller with little news in his style director. Flashback, different angles of view but the same skill of tell stories.The change of the character acting by P.S. Hoffmann, the progressive descent in his dark side is a class of shooting for the young director.After Twelve men hungry, Serpico, Dog day, Network,anther masterpieces by one of the most director of all the time... Absolutely to see.
Why I think this film is so overrated
posted on 09 Jun 2009I have rarely disagreed so much with the IMDb average. No.1 Most of the stuff in this film just does not happen. Ever. Even if it does, it doesn't all happen to the same bunch of people. Even if it did happen to the same bunch of people, it would be because of causal links, which were absent or weak here. No.2 There really wasn't much tension here, given it was a thriller format. The cuts back and forward in time meant you knew what was going to happen a lot of the time. Even when you didn't, plot developments were clichéd and predictable. Even when they weren't, they were signalled way ahead of time. No.3 Various specific plot elements didn't go anywhere or were pretty unlikely or happened just too easily No.4 There was far too much use of the phone to make up for a weak structure. And the personal interactions generally weren't convincing.
Though Fictional It Rings All Too True...Gripping & Horrific!
posted on 22 Aug 2009Condense the horror imbued in all the characters of The Godfather down to an even smaller family, condense it further following them only over the course of several days and, well, you just got to see it to understand. This movie is perhaps the most gripping thriller in at least a decade. It makes one almost physically sick to see a family come completely apart with such a horrific efficiency. Even though it's fictional it all rings true and that drives the whole thing into the stratosphere. Everything serves the story so completely you'll believe it actually happened and that you are looking at the real people it happened to. It's generally excepted Philip Seymour Hoffman is one of, if not the most, talented actors working. This movie will perpetuate that...However...You'll be shocked at Ethan Hawke's performance. He can nail "nervous wreck" so well you will be concerned that he must need help even beyond the camera! While I won't go into the other aspects of the casting, I will say it's perfect as everyone serves the story.Lumet, Masterson, Hoffman, and Hawke deserve academy award consideration for Before The Devil Knows You're Dead. This is the rare fictional crime thriller, such as the Godfather, that wrenches one to the point of relief when the final credits roll. But, you will stay until they roll and you'll likely feel quite queasy in between. Highly recommended.