Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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197 of 207 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Family Implosion, April 20, 2008
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
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25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Descent into dysfunction, December 25, 2007
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.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"I got to get into character.", May 17, 2008
"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.
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