Sidney Lumet has been making movies for 50 years, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead ranks as one of his best: a moody, expertly-crafted crime story/domestic drama featuring a superb ensemble cast. It's basically a modern film noir revolving around a botched robbery, but revved up with some fancy narrative footwork that breaks the story into discrete scenes focusing on individual characters, and then shuffles them chronologically to provide changing perspectives. In theory, this one-step-forward, two-steps-back structure should feel self-consciously arty, but it's pulled off so deftly that the film emerges as an engaging puzzle rather than an annoying bag of tricks. Kudos are also due to the excellent cast, which includes Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke as totally dissimilar brothers who become unlikely partners in crime, as well as Albert Finney as their father—owner of the jewelry store the siblings try to rob. When the heist derails, the brothers find their lives unraveling as their father obsessively seeks to identify the guilty parties and avenge his loss. Much more than just a detailing of a robbery gone awry, this portrait of a family disintegrating under the weight of old crimes and misdemeanors is highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Sidney Lumet and costars Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman, a 25-minute “Directed by Sidney Lumet: How the Devil Was Made” behind-the-scenes featurette with Lumet, Hawke, Hoffman, and costar Marisa Tomei, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fine thriller.] (F. Swietek)
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
THINKFilm, 117 min., R, DVD: $27.99, Blu-ray: $35.98, Apr. 15 Volume 23, Issue 1
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
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