Customer Reviews

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

The full title of this film is 'May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you're dead', a rewording of the old Irish toast 'May you have food and raiment, a soft pillow for your head; may you be 40 years in heaven, before the devil knows you're dead.' First time screenwriter Kelly Masterson (with some modifications by director Sidney Lumet) has concocted a melodrama that explores just how fragmented a family can become when external forces drive the members to unthinkable extremes. In this film the viewer is allowed to witness the gradual but nearly complete implosion of a family by a much used but, here, very sensible manipulation of the flashback/flash forward technique of storytelling. By repeatedly offering the differing vantages of each of the characters about the central incidents that drive this rather harrowing tale, we see all the motivations of the players in this case of a robbery gone very wrong.

Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a wealthy executive, married to an emotionally needy Gina (Marisa Tomei), and addicted to an expensive drug habit. His life is beginning to crumble and he needs money. Andy's ne're-do-well younger brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) is a life in ruins - he is divorced from his shrewish wife Martha (Amy Ryan), is behind in alimony and child support, and has borrowed all he can from his friends, and he needs money. Andy proposes a low-key robbery of a small mall mom-and-pop jewelry store that promises safe, quick cash for both. The glitch is that the jewelry story belongs to the men's parents - Charles (Albert Finney) and Nanette (Rosemary Harris). Andy advances Hank some cash and wrangles an agreement that Hank will do the actual robbery, but though Hank agrees to the 'fail-safe' plan, he hires a friend to take on the actual job while Hank plans to be the driver of the getaway car. The robbery is horribly botched when Nanette, filing in for the regular clerk, shoots the robber and is herself shot in the mess. The disaster unveils many secrets about the fragile relationships of the family and when Nanette dies, Charles and Andy and Hank (and their respective partners) are driven to disastrous ends with surprises at every turn.

Each of the actors in this strong but emotionally acrid film gives superb performances, and while we have come to expect that from Hoffman, Hawke, Tomei, Finney, Ryan, and Harris, it is the wise hand of direction from Sidney Lumet that make this film so unforgettably powerful. It is not an easy film to watch, but it is a film that allows some bravura performances that demand our respect, a film that reminds us how fragile many families can be. Grady Harp, April 08

At the age of 83, director Sidney Lumet proves he still has plenty of juice. And once again, Philip Seymour Hoffman proves he is one of the finest American actors working today. This powerful one-two punch nails this movie into your head; and that's further guaranteed by, a) great acting by the rest of the cast, including Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei and, in a bravura performance, Albert Finney, and b) a shockingly dark portrait of a family so dysfunctional it almost makes the Texas Chainsaw Massacre folks look tame. Well, almost.

Two brothers, played by Hawke and Hoffman, work in the same real estate company, but are hugely different. Hoffman's the bigshot; Hawke's not. Hawke's divorced; Hoffman's married to Tomei and the opening graphic scene shows just how married the two of them are. Hoffman's got problems and so does Hawke, but they're different problems, although both have their root in money.

Money drives this sucker and leads to greed, murder, despair, fear, and retribution. This is one of the darkest of noir tales in a long while; it's a noir family drama that's so unrelenting your chin drops further and further as the movie progresses and by the whopper of a tragic ending, it's definitely on the sidewalk.

But this is what makes it so compelling. It's astonishingly powerful; fundamentally, you can't believe how things can spiral so much out of control the way they do in this movie, but they do, they definitely do.

Hawke and Hoffman both needing money leads to a plan to get said money, and, of course--this being a noir film at its blackest heart--to get it completely illegally. Watch this movie to see how noir is REALLY done today, in the 21st century. As another critic pointed out, it's not so much that these guys are criminals, but that they are essentially average guys with some smarts who are in real jams and who take what looks like an easy way out to remove those jams...meaning that these guys could be you or me.

This is a real kick in the teeth movie. Serious punch, powerful acting, a director with real chops at the age of 83, and one you won't forget for a LONG time.

See it.

I had a pretty good idea of the basic plot when I walked into the theatre. Two brothers (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke) plan to hold up a jewelry store in a strip mall...and the store is owned by THEIR PARENTS. I also knew it bounced around in time a little.

What I didn't expect was such an unrelenting look at a whole bunch of magnificently screwed-up people! WOW! I was left almost breathless by the new depths to which these folks could sink. It was a family tragedy, but there sure wasn't anything noble about these characters.

Hawke is the younger brother, and he works for the same company as his brother, but in a fairly lowly position, and he can barely make ends meet. He's way behind on his child support, and his daughter is growing more and more aggravated with him because he can't follow through on his promises to her to do things like fund her field trip to go see THE LION KING on Broadway. He appears to be ever so slighly dim-witted, although that may just be the drugs. He lives in a rough apartment and has some pretty rough friends.

Hoffman is the older brother, and while on the surface he may appear to be a little more together (he has a fairly responsible accounting position in the company)...we actually see as the movie progresses that he's in some seriously deep trouble. His marriage to Marisa Tomei is very much on the rocks, and the only good times they had recently were on vacation in South America. He believes he can start a new life down there, and keep his marriage going...but how to fund such a move? He's also into some pretty hefty drugs and even his larger salary can't fund it all.

It's his idea to rip-off the parents. ("Hey, they're insured.") Hawke finally buys into it, and they enter into the plot. It isn't spoiling much (because we see it so early in the film) to say that things don't exactly go smoothly! I won't say more, so you can see for yourself.

So why are these two guys SO screwed up? We see some of this as more scenes between the boys and their parents are revealed. In particular, we see their relationships with their father, Albert Finney. He's an old man now, but we get the idea that when he was younger, he was pretty tough old bird, difficult to please, lacking in affection and just a real poor father. Scenes with mother Rosemary Harris are fewer and less illuminating. It's really a story about how men in a family can screw each other up. BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD takes this idea to EXTREMES.

Towards the end, the actions of Hoffman in particular become almost monumentally deranged. We believe that he is doing what he's doing...but it's hard not to gasp in dismay. He is truly a completely broken and desparate man. All sympathy we might have had for him is gone...just like any sense of a moral compass he might have had. And Albert Finney arguably goes even one step more off the path of righteousness at the very end.

Anyway, I hope you get that this is not a happy, light film. But it is powerful, astonishingly well acted and written, and an absolute must-see. It's a riveting time at the theatre!!!

Hoffman is brilliant...pure and simple. His work here easily equals anything he's done before. I don't know if the film will be an Oscar contender, because it has such a small audience...but it should be and absolutely Hoffman should be up for Best Actor. Hawke is also very good...he is a complete coward and makes up both sympathize him and despise him. He could be up for Best Supporting Actor. Finney is always an imposing presence...and he's very good here. Again, I can't tell you too much without spoiling the plot line, but let's say he goes very convincingly from distraught to enraged. Marisa Tomei does another masterful performance as the woman who unknowingly is the downfall of the men in her life (in some ways...don't accuse me of being a chauvenist...I'm just saying that a lot of the choices the characters make revolve around trying to please her). She gives a brave performance (she spends a lot of time in the nude) and is her usual mixture of sultry and defenseless. If her role in IN THE BEDROOM got her a nomination (which she deserved) then I think she could have another one here.

Director Sidney Lumet may be getting on in years...but my goodness, he sure doesn't hesitate to step right into some very murky and unpleasant waters. His film is super specific, has a wonderful sense of place and he also gives his great cast the space they need to "do their stuff." No quick edits, or blitzkreig pacing when it doesn't suit. He believes we will be gripped by the story, and he's right.

This is not a film for the kids! Nor is it a film for someone looking for a glossy Hollywood film. It's pretty brutal and uncompromising. But I couldn't tear myself away, and the audience I saw it with was clearly as mesmerized as I was. GREAT stuff!!!

This film is a wrecking ball operated by Sidney Lumet -- it crashes through manicured downtown New York lofts and lives alike while viewers gawk at the spectacle. If there's a weak link in the cast, it's Ethan Hawke, but even he might get an Oscar nomination for his work here. The level of performance is so high that you nearly miss the film's nearly perfect production design and cinematography. Unfortunately, it's tone is so bleak, bordering on noir, that it becomes much easier to compartmentalize and appreciate from afar rather than embrace and enjoy. (8/10)

"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" is one of the most thrilling crime dramas of recent years, proving that the octogenarian Sidney Lumet is just as brilliant a director as he ever was. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke, looking like Francis Bacon caricatures of themselves, play financially strapped brothers who decide to solve their cash flow problems by robbing their parents' jewelry store. Needless to say, the robbery goes very, very wrong. The tense, fragmentary screenplay fills us in bit by bit as to the robbery, the events leading up to it and its aftermath, showing us not only the brothers' growing desperation but the family rivalries and character weaknesses that made the final tragedy inevitable. The final scene, a grotesque mockery of the perfect crime the brothers envisioned, suggests that apples never fall far from the tree. Like a crazed, three-way cross between "Memento," "The Asphalt Jungle" and "Death of a Salesman," "Before the Devil Knows Your Dead" keeps viewers on the edge of their seats from beginning to end. Hawke gives an indelible portrait of a pathetic loser (even his young daughter pegs him as such) and Hoffman is even better as the domineering elder brother, whose masterful calm is only skin-deep. The supporting players match the leads; Albert Finney, as Hoffman and Hawke's father, plays the last half of the film in a whirlwind of disbelieving grief and anger, his face twisted into a gargoyle mask of pain. Rosemary Harris gives a poignant performance as the family matriarch, while Marisa Tomei and Amy Ryan are impeccable as Hoffman's wife and Hawke's ex. "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" can justifiably be considered as the best movie in Lumet's career. Considering that his other movies include "Twelve Angry Men," "Network" and "Dog Day Afternoon," that's saying something.

I have to agree with the other reviewer this movie is excellent all around. The sex scene which opens the film is out of place as I felt that it would of probably worked better had it appeared later on in the film instead of at the beginning which is really pointless. That said "Before The Devil Knows You're Dead" is one of the best movies of 2007. One of the things that I really look forward when I go see a movie or play is the acting which in this film is exceptional. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke play estranged brothers who plan the perfect crime which turns out horribly wrong. The performances of both of these actors are superb. They're two of the finest actors of their generation I feel. The writing is wonderful which makes for a perfectly written screenplay and Sidney Lumet's directing is the best we've seen since his glory years with both "Serpico and "Dog Day Afternoon" starring the legendary Al Pacino.

This movie is not to be missed. I am however disappointed that it never received the promotion that it should have. I didn't know that the movie was released until I saw the trailer on an internet site. Both Hoffman (Best Actor)and Hawke (Best Supporting Actor) deserve Oscar nominations for their electrifying performances which was nothing less than spectacular. Lumet should also be granted a nomination for Best Director and the movie itself deserves an Oscar nod in the category of Best Picture. I can't say enough about this movie, if you haven't seen it go see it if you can find it playing somewhere. If not rent or buy the film when is released on DVD on April 15, 2008. You will not be disappointed. If you care about movies that are emotionally soul stirring and have depth and if you're interested in excellence in acting (as I do) you cannot afford to miss this amazing movie.

"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" is one of the best movies to come out of 2007. It's involving, thrilling and even at times terrifying to see how normal everyday people can do terrible and unimaginable things. It's also a film that shows you that nothing is ever simple and even what seems to be the most simple or "victimless" crime can lead to devastating consequences that can shatter lives.

"Victimless." That's exactly the term Andy uses when he explains to his brother how they can get some easy cash. Both are in desperate need of money. Andy says that there is a solution to all of their problems, and that is to hit a mom-and-pop jewelery store that they both know very well. No guns will be used. No cops will be called. And most importantly, nobody will get hurt. How can it go wrong? Very wrong, that's how. Wrong as in that people do get hurt and that the aftermath can lead to the destruction of an already damaged family in the gripping melodrama that goes to show you just how evil the world can be sometimes.

Not a moment went by where I didn't find myself hooked. Not a minute went by where I could predict what was going to happen next. That's a real treat when you are in the presence of a confident film that won't resort to the usual cliches or predictable twists and turns. The writing and performances are outstanding. Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives one of his best and darkest performances as a man who can be so manipulative and cold, yet you sense that there is a longing for love and acceptance that he has inside of him that wasn't shown to him when he was younger. Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei and Albert Finney are also terrific and deserve high praises.

There is a risk that comes with a film like this, and that is the fact that there will be a lot of people who won't like it. It's very dark, depressing and even gives you a sense of hopelessness that things can ever be good for these characters. But, because this movie is so well executed, it makes you want to take the trip even if it's not a joyful one. The DVD includes cast and crew commentary, a theatrical trailer and a making of featurette.

I have seen this film many times now, and it never loses its power and emotion for me. True, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" is not for everybody, but it is a remarkable film that deserves to be seen. If you're looking for a crime story where you actually care about the characters, as flawed as they may be, then this may be the one for you. -Michael Crane

"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" is a tough crime drama that exposes the seamy underbelly of life. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke star as an unlikely set of brothers, both of whom are having money problems. Hoffman devises a plan to help them both get some cash - not surprisingly, the plan turns sour. The rest of the movie concerns the fallout of their actions. The plot jumps back and forth in time and is told from multiple perspectives; there are also some nifty plot twists, the biggest of which is revealed very early in the movie.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, Sidney Lumet directed a number of great movies focusing on big city corruption (Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, Prince of the City). He got off track afterwards, only rarely scoring with a moderate critical hit (Running on Empty, Night Falls on Manhattan). By returning to his theme of the evil in seemingly good New Yorkers, Lumet rises to his earlier directing glory - "Before the Devil" is easily his best work since 1982's "The Verdict." He's aided by a stellar cast, which includes Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei, who is so often under-used in films.

Many of the biggest critical hits of 2007 explored dark themes - "No Country for Old Men," "American Gangster," "Eastern Promises," and "There Will Be Blood." This film can hold its own against these heavyweights; unfortunately, "Before the Devil" was criminally neglected during awards season, scoring only a few wins from minor film critic societies. Hopefully on DVD it can reach a far wider audience.

Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) have financial problems. Hank's ex-wife never lets up about the child support he owes and Andy has been embezzling money from his company. Andy's wife, Gina (Marisa Tomei) is depressed and pressures him to move to Brazil, where she believes all their troubles will be over. She's also having an affair with Hank. Andy devises a scheme to steal from their parents' small jewelry store and convinces Hank to perform the burglary. Hank, however, persuades one of his friends to do the actual robbery. Although neither of the brothers expect their mother to be working at the store that morning, she is there, covering for the woman who is supposed to be working. Things go awry from the start and Hank's friend and his mother fatally shoot each other.

Hank has trouble dealing with his mother's death and Andy tries to come to terms over the part he played in her death and the hatred he harbors for his dad. Hank and Andy are fearful of being caught and when Andy learns the IRS is auditing his department, he panics and, from that point on, his life spins out of control.

Excellent acting by Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The movie moves at a fast pace and switches from backstory to the present with ease. Albert Finney puts in a fine performance as the dad and Marisa Tomei, as always, does well in her part.

An engrossing, extremely well acted, but very dark film. For you fellow fans of old crime novels, this is the kind of story that would be at home in a Jim Thompson, David Goodis, or James M. Cain book. Flawed characters, broken relationships, hopeless situations, it's all here.

To paraphrase director Sidney Lumet in the well-done "making of" featurette on the DVD, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" is a classic style melodrama, but with "melodrama" being meant in a complimentary sense. That is, the film isn't meant to be campy or overacted, just "amped up", depicting people and situations at their various breaking points.

Lumet also noted in his comments that good melodramas always have the situations driving the characters, not the characters driving the situations. That may be true to some extent here (the characters certainly have to react to a lot of intense developments, which serve to reveal their innermost, hidden traits), but their basic personalities certainly influence the events, too. For example, if Philip Seymour Hoffman's "Andy" character wasn't so cold and calculating, he never would have devised the attempt to rob his parents' jewelry store in the first place, and if Andy's brother wasn't so fearful and jittery (likely due to a lifetime of intimidation by his brother), he never would have brought in his loose-cannon friend to help with the robbery, which of course turned out to be a disastrous move.

In any event, this dark, violent, sexy crime tale is strongly recommended for fans of tough crime tales. Just don't expect hearts and flowers at the end and you'll do just fine.